“I’ll close out one or two runs”.
KIA Tigers closer Jung Hae-young (22) is regaining his strength in the fall. In a three-game weekend series against the Hanwha Eagles, she picked up two saves to lead the sweep.
In the ninth inning of the 25th game with a 4-1 lead, he retired three Hanwha center fielders in order. It was his first save in 26 days and first in August since July 30 against Lotte. After a day’s rest, he returned on the 27th with a 5-2 lead and again struck out three batters.
In two games, he struck out six without issuing a walk. His fastball touched 145+ mph and he regained a lot of end-of-ball strength. His control was solid. He looked like a closer.
In 37 games, he has a 3-2 record, 12 saves and one hold, with a 3.47 ERA. He’s still very hungry. Last year he was the first Tigers closer to record back-to-back 30-save seasons, but this year he struggled from the start. He was sent down to the future team in late May and spent nearly a month making adjustments.
“They put me in a save situation, so I threw hard to stop them as much as possible,” Jung said. I prepared well and was rewarded with the result. I didn’t neglect my weight training. I think I was exhausted, so I took a lot of rest in August and ate more good food than usual, which led to good results.”
“I hope I can get back to the form I had last year. It’s a positive sign that I’ve gotten good results in two games, but I’m still a little nervous. When I made a save against Hanwha on the 25th, (catcher) Kim Tae-gun said, ‘That was the best ball I’ve ever received,’ so I felt a little more confident,” he laughed.안전놀이터
Against Samsung Electronics in Daegu on Sept. 18, he was pulled from the game with a one-run lead in the ninth inning. Lim Ki-young, who pitched the eighth inning, closed out the ninth. “I was bad against Samsung last year and this year, so I had to admit it quickly and do better,” Jung said. Ki-young protected me well. The team is more important than my record,” he coolly admitted.
That’s why he was so motivated to close out tough situations. “I want to pitch like I did today, even if it’s 1-2, I want to make a clean save, so I can gain confidence and regain my composure. A three-run game is a two-run game, even if it’s a home run. I want to pitch well so that I can feel comfortable in a close game,” he said.