LG closer Ko Woo-suk rode a roller coaster in this Korean Series. He appeared in all three games from Game 1 on the 7th to Game 3 on the 10th, recording losses, saves and relief wins. It is the sixth time in history that a pitcher has recorded all wins, losses and saves in a single Korean Series, and Ko Woo-suk is the first player to make those three records in the first three games.
With three runs in the first ⅓ of Game 3, Ko Woo-suk's ERA in the Korean Series soared to 10.80. Except for the second game, which kept the one-point lead with three outs, the other two games were unstable.
#Ko Woo-suk's Korean Series Match Diary
On the 7th, in Game 1, he lost one inning, one hit, one walk, one strikeout, one run
In Game 2 on the 8th, he saved two strikeouts and no runs in one inning
In Game 3 on the 10th, he won three runs with four hits, one out, and one strikeout in one ⅓ inning
In 1994, when LG last won, there was no worry about finishing. At that time, the closing pitcher was Kim Yong-soo. In three games, he recorded eight ⅓ scoreless innings and struck out a whopping 17. He won relief in the first game (2-1 finishing), which was extended to the 11th inning. The second game (7-0) ended with a shutout by Jung Sam-heum, and there was no chance to take the mound. He made saves in Game 3 (5-4) and Game 4 (3-2), which were one-point games.
Kim Yong-soo is also a player who symbolizes victory in 1994. The last out of Game 4 is still a great scene in LG's history. He grabbed Kim Sung-gap's ground ball, raised his arms, threw the ball to first base, and hugged catcher Kim Dong-soo to enjoy the joy of winning the championship.
LG had a great victory of 15-4 in Game 4 on the 11th, leaving only one win to win the Korean Series for the third time in its career. There are no gaps in the lineup from No. 1 to No. 9, and unlike KT, there is room in the bullpen. The starters were cited as weaknesses, but Game 5 is the turn of ace and big game pitcher Casey Kelly. Only Ko Woo-suk's condition, which will mark the end, remains a question mark.
LG pitching coach Kim Kyung-tae believed that the slight difference between the first and second games, and the second and third games led to a control problem. He tried to continue the same direction as he succeeded in making a perfect save with two strikeouts and no runs in the first inning with the feeling of "relaxing" in the second game, but in the third game, there was a balance problem. The fastball went out of the strike zone around, and the curve fell too early toward the left-handed batter's body.
Coach Kim Kyung-tae said the influence of the weather cannot be ignored. He said, "There is a difficulty because the weather has become so cold. He suddenly didn't get the ball speed. Our bullpen is all ball-type pitchers, but it came out about 2-3km less than usual. Those things bother me. I think I need to pay more attention to fully and slowly preparing in advance," he said.
Park Dong-won, the main catcher, does not seem to be too worried. Park Dong-won said, "Wooseok didn't mean to throw like that, but there were a lot of balls that fell out of the strike zone little by little. He would have liked to throw in the middle, but it would have been much better if the ball had come into the zone a little more. It's not an easy task either. I can't throw it exactly all the time. I don't think I was lucky with Wooseok," he said.
LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop did not regain trust in Ko Woo-suk, who continues to struggle. Before Game 4 on the 11th, Ko Woo-suk, who threw 39 pitches in Game 3, said he would also wait in the bullpen in Game 4. "(Ko Woo-suk) is a player that I have to use anyway," he said. "(Ko Woo-suk) is also an adventure for me. You can be criticized, and if you block it well, it can be a godsend. You have to live with failure. The director is the one who thinks about and decides what has the highest probability. The director is responsible for the results," he said.
He was able to send him off in the eighth inning in the third game because he trusted Ko Woo-suk. The eighth inning is a trickier batting order starting from the allocation table, so he came up with a plan to put Ko Woo-suk first and then leave Lee Jung-yong to save if the number of pitches increases. Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop said at the time, "The eighth inning was a more difficult batting order. His ball power wasn't bad, but his control wasn't good. I think it will get better the more we play the game," he said, surrounding Ko Woo-suk. I don't know what kind of game it will be, but as soon as LG wins, the last pitcher is likely to be Ko Woo-suk.
