The sudden showers didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the first-place LG Twins.
LG held its first training session during the All-Star break on the 17th at Jamsil Stadium. Players who did not participate in the All-Star Game and the coaching staff had their first training session after a three-day break. LG manager Yeom Kyung-yup and six players who played in the All-Star Game, including Go Woo-seok, Park Dong-won, Oh Ji-hwan, Kim Hyun-soo, Austin Kim and Kim Jin-sung, took the day off.
The team practice, which started at 3 p.m., was reminiscent of spring training. The pitchers warmed up in the outfield, and the infielders practiced running the bases. We went over the plays that could happen in a game at first and third base. The coaches took the field. Kim Il-kyung was the pitcher, Kim Jung-jun was the second baseman, and Mo Chang-min was the third baseman.
As the pitchers and fielders gathered to work on defense, it started to rain. Pitchers worked on how to handle ground balls with different runner situations. The rain continued to fall, and it looked like batting practice would be moved indoors. However, batting practice continued outdoors. The first-team batters, including Hong Chang-ki, who leads the team in OPS, veteran Heo Do-hwan, Park Hae-min, Shin Min-jae, Moon Sung-joo, and Lee Jae-won, all came out.
The rain wasn’t too heavy, so the players continued batting practice in two batting cages in the rain. We thought the rain would stop soon, but it didn’t. In fact, the rain increased slightly. As they continued to bat, water began to pool in the infield.
LG finished the first half in first place with 49 wins, 2 draws, and 30 losses, a winning percentage of 6.2 percent. They are 2.5 games behind the second-place SSG Landers (46 wins, 1 draw, 32 losses).
The team had a tough start to the season, with a domino effect of injuries to several main players, starting with Ko Woo-seok’s injury, but they managed to finish first thanks to their solid roster.
The struggles continued in the second half. Park Myung-geun, who played a big role in the bullpen as a rookie, was pulled due to elbow discomfort, and set-up man Jung Woo-young was sidelined with back pain on the last day of the first half.
The fourth and fifth starters behind Casey Kelly, Adam Plutko, and Chan-kyu Lim are still unclear. Lee Jung-yong, who converted from setup man to starter, hasn’t pitched yet, so the bullpen is full of pitchers and the fifth starter is virtually non-existent, so the days when the fourth and fifth starters pitch are “bullpen days”. The bullpen could be overloaded.
LG shouldn’t have too much trouble with their bullpen, as Yoo Young-chan and Baek Seung-hyun are expected to return from injury to start the second half. However, it’s clear that the starters will need to pitch longer innings.
The hitters need to make up for the difficult mound. LG leads the league with a 3.61 ERA, and the offense is also leading the league with a 2.085 batting average. In July, however, the team cooled off a bit, going 2-for-7. Even on days when the bullpen pitched well, the offense couldn’t get going and the team lost.
Until the mound is stabilized, the batting lineup will be essential.
The heavens must have been impressed with the hard work of the LG batters in the rain, because the rain stopped around 4:30 pm. With the humidity rising, LG’s batters batted until the end to prepare for the second half of the game.
LG will have a night training session at 6:30 p.m. on the 18th, take a day off, and train in the locker room once more on the 20th before starting the first three-game series of the second half against the SSG Landers on the 21st. 토토사이트