Since his debut in the KBO league, he has only started 5 games in the first team, but the command tower has entrusted the veteran with a heavy responsibility. Samsung Jang Pil-joon will be on the mound for the first team after 257 days.
Samsung will have three weekend matches against KIA at KIA Champions Field in Gwangju on the 21st and 23rd. In the first game of the series, Jang Pil-jun, who started as a starting pitcher, faces off against ‘rookie’ Yoon Young-chul.
After the opening of the season, Jang Pil-joon did not play a single game in the first team. There is no first-team record since the SSG Landers match on August 7 last year. On this day, Jang Pil-joon also took on the role of starting pitcher, and his performance at the time was 4⅔innings, 8 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts and 5 runs.
It has been about three weeks since the regular season started, but Samsung has already created a big gap in the starting lineup. Foreign pitcher Albert Suarez left the country for a while due to personal circumstances. Yang Chang-seop, who received a starting opportunity at the beginning of the season, was transferred to the long relief team.
Even if Suarez returns soon, the starting position remains vacant. While it has not been decided who will be assigned to the 5th starter, manager Park Jin-man is giving the pitchers a chance to get tested. Jang Pil-joon is one of them.
Jang Pil-joon is a ‘veteran’ who has appeared in more than 300 games in the first team, but he has mainly contributed to the bullpen. In 2015-2016 and last year, there was only one start each, and at most two (2020).
From the beginning of this year, I prepared for the starting pitcher. Jang Pil-joon started both matches in the Futures League. He scored 4 ⅓ innings against KIA on the 7th, 5 hits, 4 runs and 2 runs, and the NC Dinos match on the 15th was 3 innings, 4 hits (1 home run), 1 run and 1 run. He wasn’t 100% happy with his pitching, but he confirmed his ability to carry out long innings.
On the 19th, Samsung also proposed an alternative selection. The results were beyond expectations. Lee Jae-hee, a ‘3rd year pro’, finished his mission in a close match situation by minimizing runs by recording 4 innings, 2 hits (1 home run), 4 walks, 4 strikeouts, and 3 runs against the Kiwoom Heroes lineup.
Thanks to this, the team won 9-5 after 12 overtime matches in the game featuring ‘League’s best starter’ An Woo-jin.메이저놀이터 It was a win that was more valuable to the team than ever before.
Again, Samsung hopes that the replacement selection will play a minimal role. As no pitcher has yet appeared to occupy the 5th starting pitcher, if Jang Pil-joon achieves desired results against the KIA on the 21st, there is a possibility that he will settle into the starting rotation. Attention is focusing on whether he will live up to the expectations of his commander.