토토사이트LG Twins right-hander Lee Ji-kang fulfilled his role as a starting pitcher, but for once, he couldn’t get the win.
Lee Ji-kang started the 10th game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the Samsung Lions at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Thursday and gave up two runs on four hits (one home run) and two walks in 5⅔ innings. It was the most innings he has pitched in a game since his professional debut, the previous record being five innings against the Gwangju KIA Tigers on October 6 last year.
Lee started the game with a light heart as the Tigers scored two runs in the first inning. In the bottom of the first inning, Kim Hyun-joon, Ryu Ji-hyeok, and Koo Ja-uk turned a triple play, and in the top of the second inning, he was hit by a pitch to Kang Kang-ul, but Kim Tae-hoon ended the inning easily.
If there was a moment of disappointment for Lee Ji-gang, it was in the bottom of the third. After getting two outs on a strikeout by Oh Jae-il and a groundout by Lee Jae-hyun, she gave up a single to Kim Sung-yoon. After allowing a stolen base, Lee eventually gave up the first run of the game on a single by Kim Hyun-jun with two outs.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Lee gave up a tying solo home run to Kang Min-ho, but was relieved by a triple play in the bottom of the fifth. In the bottom of the sixth, after a leadoff double by Kim Hyun-jun, he got Ryu Ji-hyuk and Koo Ja-uk to fly out and ground out, respectively, before handing the mound over to Kim Jin-sung with two outs.
Lee threw 76 pitches on the day, most of them fastballs (32). His changeup (24), slider (11), and curve (9) followed. Before the game, LG manager Yoon Kyung-yeop wanted Lee Ji-gang to go the distance as his bullpen was depleted, and Lee fulfilled his manager’s expectations by pitching the most innings since his debut.
Lee Ji-gang, who hadn’t picked up a win since her first-team debut last year, came off the mound with the win requirement, but her second pitcher, Kim Jin-sung, couldn’t protect the one-run lead. In the bottom of the seventh, after a leadoff single by Kang Kang-ul and a sacrifice bunt by Kim Tae-hoon, Lee Jae-hyun singled with two outs to tie the game at 3-3. Naturally, Lee Ji-gang’s first win of the season would have to wait until next time.