The KBO League’s best pitcher, Ahn Woo-jin (Kiwoom Heroes), failed to hunt for three wins in the season as he failed to keep the lead twice.
Ahn Woo-jin started the home game against NC Dinos in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 12th and threw 109 balls in 7⅓ innings, scoring 6 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts and 3 runs.
Ahn Woo-jin was replaced in a situation where the team was facing 3-3, so he could not build a win. He missed a chance to win by himself, allowing runs to be tied in both the top of the 7th and the top of the 8th inning, leading by one run.
As a result, Ahn Woo-jin failed to record a 3-game winning streak after winning his 2nd win of the season against Gocheok KT Wiz on April 24th. The average ERA also soared to 1.58, widening the gap with Eric Peddy (1.02, NC), who ranked first in this category.
An Woo-jin is one of the most unlucky pitchers in the early stages of this season. Prior to this game, he appeared on the mound 7 times, recording an ERA (1.23) and 59 strikeouts, but only won 2 wins. He had the fewest wins and most losses among the five pitchers with an earned run average of one run.
Every game he pitched in, there were many cases where his hitter’s firepower dropped or his bullpen faltered. In his first appearance in May, against Gocheok SSG Landers on the 6th, he struck out 10 and allowed 2 runs until the 7th inning, but the team lost 1-2.
Even in An Woo-jin’s 8th appearance of the season, the Kiwoom lineup failed to score a large number of points. Against NC pitcher Lee Yong-jun for the third year, Edison Russell’s sacrifice hit at the end of the first inning with one out on first and third base and Park Joon-tae’s timely hit at the end of the second inning with one out and second base earned only one point each, but it was difficult to score additional points. In the bottom of the 5th and the bottom of the 6th inning, the timely hits failed to score in the bases loaded chance.
An Woo-jin also failed to pitch cleanly, sending out runners every inning from the beginning of the 1st inning to the beginning of the 5th inning. In the top of the 3rd inning, he gave up 1 run each with a double, a true base and a sacrifice hit, and was chased by 2-1, 1 run.
The fourth inning was the biggest crisis for Ahn Woo-jin. Park Gun-Woo hit and Jason Martin walked, making it to 1st and 2nd base safely.
But at this time, An Woo-jin’s monstrous helmet came out. Ahn Woo-jin struck out Kim Seong-wook with a sharp slider, then struck out Park Se-hyeok with a fly to left field. Afterwards, he threw a changeup to Oh Young-soo and struck out with a swing. 토토사이트
Ahn Woo-jin, who kept a one-point lead well, allowed a tie in the top of the 7th inning. The root of the problem was that he caught Oh Yeong-soo’s bunt ball at first base and threw it to second base. Ahn Woo-jin was put in a crisis with 1 out 2nd and 3rd base due to Kim Joo-won’s sacrifice bunt, and Do Tae-hun’s center fielder sacrifice fly allowed the second run.
Kiwoom scored one point at the end of the 7th inning with Kim Hye-sung’s quick feet and Russell’s timely hit, making An Woo-jin meet the requirements for a winning pitcher again. Kim Hye-seong got on base with a hit, and when Russell hit next to the left fielder, he quickly went around second and third bases and dug into the home base to score the final run.
An Woo-jin, who recorded 95 pitches by the beginning of the 7th inning, was on the mound in the beginning of the 8th inning, but was unable to keep a one-point lead. An Woo-jin brought himself to the 1st and 2nd base safely with hits, wild throws, and walks, and caught Martin as a criminal, but allowed Kwon Hee-dong to hit at the right time. Center fielder Lee Jung-hoo threw home, but second base runner Park Min-woo was quicker.
Kiwoom, who was in danger of missing even victory, urgently changed pitchers. Still, Ahn Woo-jin avoided allowing Anhang extra runs by allowing Kim Jae-woong, who made a relief mound at 1st and 1st and 2nd base, to turn around.