먹튀검증 The thrill of hitting an unexpected hit that brings the team victory brings indescribable pleasure.
LG Twins Heo Do-hwan gave fans such joy in the second game of the doubleheader against SSG Landers held in Jamsil on the 17th.
Heo Do-hwan was scheduled to start the second game on this day. Park Dong-won played as a starter in the first game, and Heo Do-hwan played in the second game. Although Park Dong-won is the starting catcher, he cannot be allowed to play in both games 1 and 2 as catchers consume a lot of stamina. LG coach Yeom Kyeong-yeop announced in advance, “Park Dong-won will play in the first game, and in the second game, Heo Do-hwan will start and Park Dong-won will play as a replacement.”
Heo Do-hwan appeared as the 9th batter in the second game. In fact, it is unreasonable to expect Heo Do-hwan to hit. This is because his batting average this season is only 103 2 ri (5 hits in 38 at-bats). So he was placed at number 9 in the batting order.
However, the first at-bat was a chance to hit. In the bottom of the second inning, trailing 0-2, Heo Do-hwan came to bat with runners on second and third base with two outs. If it had been a chance with no outs or 1 out, he might have bunted. Coach Yeom picks Heo Do-hwan, Kim Min-seong, and Seo Geon-chang as the LG players who are best at bunting. They have so much trust that they can sign a sacrifice bunt even when the opposing defense pressures them with 100% bunt defense. But this time, it was 2 outs, so I had no choice but to hit. At full count, he hit a low fastball of 149 km, but the third baseman’s foul fly flew high.
The second at bat came in the bottom of the 4th inning with a 3-2 lead. Heo Do-hwan, who entered the batter’s box with one out, pulled a low fastball outside of 147km on the third pitch at a ball count of 1B1S and fired a solo shot that went over the left wall. It was his second home run of the season. 13th career home run. He said, “The opposing pitcher is a pitcher who is good at throwing fast balls to the body, so I only thought about fastballs, and the moment I hit them, I thought I would pass.” He said his strategy worked.
The players were so surprised and entertained by Heo Do-hwan’s home run that they formed a circle in the dugout with their arms around each other’s shoulders and pretended to wait for Heo Do-hwan in a joint celebration. When Heo Do-hwan came to celebrate, they intentionally celebrated among themselves and enjoyed themselves. This home run started the game, and LG scored 3 more runs in the bottom of the 4th inning to take a 7-2 lead, completely dividing the game.
Heo Do-hwan helped Lim Chan-gyu, who was shaky in the beginning, pitch until the 5th inning. They gave up 1 run after getting 4 consecutive hits in the top of the 1st inning, but struck out Ha Jae-hoon and Kim Seong-hyun in a row to prevent additional runs, and in the top of the 3rd inning, after the bases were on the verge of being loaded with a double and 2 outs, a hit by Ha Jae-hoon gave them 1 run and the infield continued. In the end, no additional runs were conceded due to a ground ball. Afterwards, in the 4th and 5th innings, Lim Chan-gyu became the winning pitcher with consecutive three-way strikes. “I changed the pattern a little because there were hits in the beginning. Chan-gyu’s fastball was so good today that I changed the pattern to focus on fastballs, and it seems to have worked well,” he said.
When he was at bat in the bottom of the 5th inning, he was replaced by Park Dong-won and fulfilled his duty. Regarding the lack of regular appearances, Heo Do-hwan said, “It’s harder as I get older, but it’s something I have to do as a baseball player. I think I have to do more for the team. I’m so grateful to the fans, and although there’s not much left in the season, I’m in first place until the end.” “I will make sure to maintain my position,” he said.