“I saw and felt something.”
Choi Sung-young (NC Dinos) pitched six innings of two-run 카지노사이트(two earned), five-hit ball, walking one and striking out two to lead his team to a 5-3 victory over the LG Twins in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at NC Park in Changwon on Sunday.
Choi started the game in the top of the first inning with a single off of Hong Chang-ki. Shin Min-jae’s sacrifice bunt moved Hong to second base. Kim Min-sung walked to put runners at second and third. However, he got Austin Dean to fly out to right field to end the inning. In the second inning, he struck out Oh Ji-hwan, Moon Bo-kyung, and Park Dong-won.
Choi gave up a run in the bottom of the third. After getting Moon Sung-joo to fly out to center field, he gave up back-to-back singles to Park Hae-min and Hong Chang-ki. With runners on first and third, Shin Min-jae hit a ball that went behind Park Min-woo at second base. Park Min-woo stayed focused and fielded the ball. Park Hae-min tagged up and came home. Hong Chang-ki was thrown out at first base. A video review was conducted on the timing of Hong’s out and Park’s run, and the run was awarded.
Choi settled down after that. He closed out the fourth and fifth innings. In the top of the fourth, Kim Min-sung flied out to shortstop, Austin flied out to left field, and Oh Ji-hwan struck out. In the top of the fifth, Moon Bo-kyung grounded out to shortstop, Park Dong-won grounded out to second base, and Moon Sung-joo flied out to center field to end the inning.
Choi Sung-young faced the final threat in the sixth inning. He gave up a leadoff double to Park Hae-min. He got Hong Chang-ki to fly out to shortstop, but walked Shin Min-jae. He struck out Kim Min-sung to give himself some breathing room, but gave up an RBI double to Austin. He then retired Oh Ji-hwan on a fly ball to right field before leaving the game.
Choi was hit in the left cheekbone by Moon Bo-kyung’s hard-hit pitch against the Changwon LG on June 20. He was diagnosed with a left orbital fracture. After recovering, he made his comeback on August 9 against the Incheon SSG Landers. The team won five games in three days to improve to 1-1 on the season.
Choi Sung-young./NC Dinos
After the game, Choi said, “I didn’t have any different thoughts than before. I think I pitched the same aggressively as I did at the beginning of the season, believing that good results would follow.”
LG is the top-ranked team this season. They have the best team batting average among the 10 teams. ”Today, I pitched with the idea that seven out of 10 batters would be out, and I think that’s why the results were so good,” Choi said of facing the LG bats. “I was scared because they hit well, but I wanted to sweep them because they were winning two in a row against the No. 1 team,” he added.
Choi Sung-young./NC Dinos
Choi threw 68 pitches in the game until the sixth inning. He mixed a four-seam fastball (32 pitches), slider (21 pitches), and changeup (15 pitches). His fastball was clocked at 141 km/h.
Choi said he was inspired by the recent performance of Ryu Hyun-jin (Toronto Blue Jays). Ryu, who underwent Tommy John surgery last year, has been dominating hitters with his fastball since his return, even though he doesn’t have the velocity.
Choi said, “I watched Ryu Hyun-jin play once, and there was something I saw and felt. I’m not a fastball pitcher either, so hitters can come in with a lot of confidence. On the contrary, I think it suits me to pitch more aggressively,” he said. “I think I had to be more aggressive to get good results.”
“As a starting pitcher, I have to throw long innings, so I think, ‘Let’s save my stamina,’ which I shouldn’t,” Choi continued, “but I think about it when I’m on the mound, so I try not to think about it as much as possible. My coaches have been telling me a lot of things like, ‘Throw hard. Even if it’s a long outing, I only have five innings, so I just go out there with the idea that I’m going to give it my all.”
Choi Sung-young./NC Dinos
Choi Sung-young./NC Dinos