1st starter from ML → Pil Seung-jo → Veteran left-hander → 12 billion captain → 1st nomination, multiple wins, injury devastated...It was Samsung's enemy, not KIA, but an injury
1st starter from ML → Pil Seung-jo → Veteran left-hander → 12 billion captain → 1st nomination, multiple wins, injury devastated...It was Samsung's enemy, not KIA, but an injury
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The Samsung Lions, led by head coach Park Jin-man, lost to the KIA Tigers of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO Korean Series 2-9 in Game 4 at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 26th. If they add one win, three losses and one loss to the series, the chance to win the Korean Series, which they had sought for the first time in 10 years since 2014, will disappear.안전놀이터
What was more painful than the loss on the day, however, was the injury of ace Won Tae-in. On the day, Won performed poorly, allowing six runs on six hits, three outs and two outs in 2.1 innings. With the bases loaded with one out in the top of the third inning, Won handed the ball over to Song.
He pitched in 28 games, recording 15 wins and six losses and an earned run average of 3.66 in 159.2 innings, and allowed seven hits, two outs and three strikeouts, and one run in 6.2 innings in the second playoff game against the LG Twins. He garnered his first postseason victory since his debut. He also pitched five innings of two hits, two outs and no run in the first playoff game against the LG Twins.
There were reasons for the lackluster performance. A Samsung official said, "I felt a little uncomfortable on my shoulder, so I was replaced to protect the player. I have no plan for hospital treatment."
However, he had a medical checkup right after the game. "After the MRI scan today, we found that the right shoulder joint was damaged," a Samsung source said. "The patient has some bleeding and swelling in the joint and needs rehabilitation for four to six weeks due to tendonitis of the rotator cuff."
Although surgery is not necessary, it will not be easy to play in Game 5 to 7 of the Korean Series, as well as to play in the upcoming 2024 WBSC Premier 12.
Samsung is suffering from injury evil spirits. It's not the first time. First, Connor Seabold, a former ML first starter, was excluded from the entry due to scapular pain. He has not been on the mound since he was substituted for pain in the match against the Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon on Sept. 11. His departure is all the more regrettable because he played an excellent role as Samsung's first starter with 11 wins, 6 losses and an ERA of 3.43 in 28 games and 160 innings this season.
He skipped the playoffs and went to the U.S. to get treatment to join the roster of the Korean Series, but failed to make it to Korea in the end. Had he made a strong third starting lineup with Danny Reyes and Won Tae-in, the trend of the Korean Series could have happened.
Veteran left-hander Baek Jung-hyun and must-winner Choi Ji-kwang were also ruled out due to injuries. First, Choi Ji-kwang collapsed on the mound on Sept. 14 against the Incheon SSG Landers, holding his right elbow while pitching. He was diagnosed with internal ligament damage in his right elbow, and eventually got on the operating table.
He played in 35 games (36.1 innings) with three wins, two losses and seven holds and an ERA of 2.23. Notably, he pitched well in the second half of this season with one win, one loss and eight holds, one save and an ERA of 1.88.
Baek Jung-hyun was hit by Kim Heon-gon's ball in his own Cheongbaek match just before the PO and received a microfracture of his right thumb and bruising of his left eye. With Baek Jung-hyun, Won Tae-in out due to injury, it may have been a great help to the starting team along with left Seung-hyun and Hwang Dong-jae.
The nightmare of injury continues in the postseason. Captain Koo Ja-wook is sick. He felt pain in his left knee while trying to steal base in the second playoff game against LG. He took magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and received micro-damage to the medial ligament in his left knee.
To expedite his comeback, he underwent treatment for two days at the Ijima Treatment Center in Yokohama, Japan. Given that coach Park Jin-man also confirmed Koo's commitment and is recovering fast, Samsung coach Park Jin-man included Koo in the entry for the Korean Series.
From the first round to the fourth round, however, he was always on the bench. He gave strength by serving as a cheerleader in the dugout, but failed to take the batter's box. "Koo has much more pain relief than when he was injured. I have no problem in my daily life," coach Park Jin-man said in the Korean Series Media Day. "However, I need to keep watching. I am thinking of a substitute at an important moment. I need to keep checking as I am still young," he said, but failed to utilize it as a substitute.
Koo had a batting average of 0.343 169 hits, 33 homers, 115 RBIs, 92 runs scored, and an OPS of 1.044 in 129 games during the regular season. Koo ranked third in slugging percentage, fourth in on-base percentage-hit-run average, fifth in homers, eighth in most hits, and 10th in runs scored, making his first 30-30 homers-100 RBIs since his debut.
Despite the symptoms of vomiting and body aches, he made three hits in four at-bats, one home run, three RBIs and three runs scored in the first round of the PO against LG. He was hot with a batting average of 0.800 four hits, one home run, three RBIs and four runs in two PO games. In the absence of such Koo Ja-wook, Samsung's batting lineup is silent. Since Koo Ja-wook's absence, he has never scored more than five points.
Samsung's enemy was not Kia but an injury. It will play its fifth game in Gwangju on Saturday. If the team loses the game on the day, the season will be over.