Kim Gwang-hyeon (35, SSG), who returned from the World Baseball Classic (WBC), pitched well in his first appearance in the demonstration game. Following 2014, 2016, and 2019, it was a return match with a high possibility of starting the 4th opening match in personal career.
Kim Gwang-hyun started the demonstration game against Hanwha in the 2023 KBO League held at Daejeon Hanwha Life Insurance Eagles Park on the 21st, and pitched in 3⅔ innings, 2 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts and no runs. Kim Gwang-hyun’s actual start was 11 days after the WBC Group B match against Japan (2 innings, 59 pitches, 3 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, 4 runs lost) held at Tokyo Dome, Japan on the 10th, when the last game was announced with the announcement of retirement from the national team. 온라인카지노
After a 10-day break, Kim Gwang-hyun, who made his debut in the demonstration game that day, struck out the first hitter Lee Won-seok with a changeup on a swing and started. He got a right-handed hit by Jeong Eun-won, but ended the first inning with 10 balls by inducing Noh Si-hwan to ground to third base and 5-4-3 double hit.
In the second inning, Kim Tae-yeon caught a looking strikeout with a low outside fastball, then Kim In-hwan pitched a ground ball and Park Jung-hyun a ground ball to second base. In the 3rd inning, Kim Gwang-hyun, who started by striking out Jin-young Lee on a swing with a changeup, made a series of tripartite innings by throwing a fly ball to right fielder with a curveball to Jae-hoon Choi and a ground ball by shortstop Jin-hyeok Jang to a slider.
In the 4th inning, after allowing the first walk after a full count match with Lee Won-seok, the leader, he was hit by Noh Si-hwan to the left and was driven into a crisis with 1 company and 1st and 2nd bases. Here, he displayed exquisite command and ball combinations against Kim Tae-yeon. On the ball count 2B-1S, he inserted the slider on the 4th pitch low to the body to catch a strike, and then an outside changeup led to a missed swing.
Kim Tae-yeon was Kim Gwang-hyun’s last opponent that day. He threw 54 pitches, one of which was missing from the scheduled number of 55 pitches, and went down. He was a little disappointed that he couldn’t finish the inning, but he successfully completed his first appearance on his return. Noh Kyung-eun, who came up as a relief, caught Kim In-hwan with a ground ball to second base and ended the inning, and Kim Gwang-hyun also finished the game without a run.
Kim Gwang-hyun threw the ball for the highest speed of 92.5 miles (about 149 km) in the match against Japan, but on this day he threw the ball at the highest speed of 146 km. He focused on conditioning by throwing mainly breaking balls with sliders (19), changeups (10) and curveballs (7) rather than an average 143km fastball (18). The possibility of starting the season opener against KIA, which will be held at Incheon home on the 1st of next month, has increased.
After the game, Kim Gwang-hyun said, “(In the WBC) I felt that his tension was a little relieved after playing a completely focused game. It is regrettable that he came down after creating a crisis in the 4th inning when his pitch was shaken. Other than that, it was fine,” he said. Now that he has become a veteran, it is an honor in itself to be able to start for the opening game. (Kim Won-hyung) I haven’t talked to the coach about the selection for the opening game yet. I don’t know when he’ll be out, but he’s not in bad shape. He expressed confidence, saying, “I will prepare to go out in the best condition.”
On this day, Kim Gwang-hyun said, “There are two veteran catchers, but (looking at the future of the team), I think Hyung-woo should lead the team in the future. In order to do that, I thought it was necessary to keep breathing in an exhibition game like today. He could have been in a one-point lead situation or thinking about how to lead as the game progressed. It will be a good experience for Hyung-woo.”