There are no critical hits, and there are pitchers who wait for the must-win group

He only played six games now, but he is getting injured again. This time, he will likely not suffer a fatal blow again.

KIA excluded pitcher Lim Ki-young from the entry on the 1st. Lim Ki-young did not take the mound due to discomfort in his left side while pitching in the bullpen against Doosan Bears in Jamsil on March 31. Later, he was diagnosed with micro-damage to his left internal oblique muscle after a thorough examination. A re-examination will be conducted in a week, and Kia expects a gap of about a month for now.

Lim Ki-young is a key pitcher in the bullpen. It is heart-wrenching news for Kia, but it is getting off to a good start and it is early in the season, so if the gap is resolved in about a month, it is expected that there will be no major problems. This is because the team started the season by intentionally changing the usage method of Lim.

Lim Ki-young took the mound in two games since the season opened. After starting pitcher Yang Hyun-jong at the match against Lotte in Gwangju on March 26, he pitched 0.2 innings with one out and runners on first and second bases in the top of the sixth inning when his team was tied 0-0, and pitched 0.2 innings with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning when his team was tying 2-2 at the match against Doosan Bears in Jamsil on March 29.

Lim Ki-young, who played in all weather conditions since moving to the bullpen last year, pitched in 64 games and pitched 82 innings. KIA manager Lee Bum-ho’s plan is to start this year by managing not to throw long in one game.

More than five must-win groups, including Lim Ki-young, have been formed, and Choi Ji-min, Jeon Sang-hyun and Jung Hae-young are currently throwing in close games after the seventh inning. Except for the closing pitcher Jung Hae-young, several must-win groups have been secured to refrain from consecutive games. In particular, KIA is in the early part of the season, so the criteria for replacement of starters are set on the number of pitches, not innings. As it is a time when the game goes down early even if the starter throws well, Lim Ki-young and Jang Hyun-sik were taking the mound in the fifth and sixth innings.

As a result, even if Lim Ki-young is away for now, there is no significant loss in the must-win situation. However, it is believed that the utilization of Lim Ki-young will inevitably expand as time goes by. If Lim Ki-young returns to normal after completing the gap as currently expected, KIA will be able to pass the beginning of the season without much difficulty.

Kia has agonized over the pitcher’s entry at the spring camp. There were many pitchers with good pace in the preparation process for the season, as it agonized over many cards that it would not waste even though it decided to expand its team’s win-win situation. Among them, Kia has been expanding the use of left-hander Kwak Do-gyu for the second year since the season’s opening. Manager Lee Bum-ho evaluates that even though he is a left-handed pitcher, he can easily catch two to three right-handed batters and play one inning.

In the current four games, Kwak Do-gyu recorded two holds with two hits and four strikeouts in 2.1 innings. The pitchers that Lee Bum-ho previously placed in the “must-win group” range were Lim Ki-young, Jang Hyun-sik, Choi Ji-min, Jeon Sang-hyun, and Jung Hae-young. With Lim Ki-young absent, as Jang Hyun-sik’s share increases, Kwak Do-gyu is expected to be included in it to solve the game.

Kia has been preparing for the opening of the exhibition games without injury. However, Na Sung-bum, the center hitter right before the opening game, and Hwang Dae-in, the first baseman, left the game against Lotte on Tuesday, three games after the opening, due to hamstring injury.

With Na Sung-bum missing, KIA has not been able to use the lineup it had envisioned, but it started the season without losing its overall balance by sending Lee Woo-sung to the outfield and Hwang Dae-in, who was pushed to the backup, to the first base. When even Hwang Dae-in was injured, KIA has not missed the upward trend, turning Lee Woo-sung to first base and putting Lee Chang-jin and Kim Ho-ryeong into the outfield depending on the weight of offense and defense. Third injury, Lim Ki-young was injured on the mound this time, but he also calmly prepares for the next one.

BY: 토토사이트 추천