Can the ace break the team’s losing streak? Samsung Lions’ Won Tae-in has been carrying a heavy load since his first start in September.
Won will start against Lee Jae-hak in the 12th game of the season against the NC Dinos of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on April 2. He will be aiming for his second straight start, following his last one against the Daegu Kiwoom Heroes on March 27.
Looking at Won Tae-in individually, his recent form hasn’t been bad. In his last seven games, he’s thrown at least five innings in every game except one, and he’s done his part win or lose. His record during that stretch is 2-1 with a 3.40 ERA in 39⅔ innings.
Won hasn’t been as fortunate as he was in 2021 (14 wins) and last year (10 wins), but he’s not too concerned with the number of wins. “I talked to my catcher (Kang) Min-ho and the coaches about making quality starts all the time, and I’m thinking about that a lot, but it’s going well, so I don’t think I’m obsessed with the number of wins,” he said.
However, the fact that the team’s current situation is not very good may put pressure on Won Tae-in.
The previous day, Samsung suffered its second straight defeat, going 0-10 in the first game of a three-game weekend series against NC. Samsung, which remained in eighth place, is now 48-1-63 (.432) on the season, and the gap to the seventh-place Lotte Giants is now four games.
On March 31, foreign pitcher Taylor Widener, who was scheduled to start against the KT Wiz in Suwon, was unable to pitch that morning due to severe cold symptoms, and Hong Jung-woo (1⅔ innings) was called up at short notice. He was followed by Kim Dae-woo (2⅓ innings), left-hander Lee Seung-hyun (1⅓ innings), Woo Kyu-min (1⅔ innings), and Kim Tae-hoon (1 inning) against KT.
In addition, Choi Chae-heung, who started the NC game on the first day, was taken off the mound early after giving up four runs on six hits (one home run) in two innings with one walk and one strikeout. Five bullpen pitchers – Jang Pil-joon (2 innings), Lee Jae-ik (1 inning), Woo Kyu-min (⅔ inning), Noh Geon-woo (1⅓ innings), and Kim Si-hyun (2 innings) – then came on in relief, and Samsung’s bullpen was used up for the second straight day. The bats remained silent throughout the game as they failed to capitalize on NC starter Tanner Tully.스포츠토토
In the end, it will be crucial for the team not to fall behind in the early game. For the third consecutive day, the starting pitching will have to come through early, or the team’s losing streak could be extended. It will be interesting to see if Won Tae-in will pitch like an ‘ace’.