LG Twins manager Yoon Kyung-yup has changed his mind. Lee Jung-yong, who was initially slated to go to the bullpen, will remain as the fifth starter.
“Lee Jung-yong will continue to start,” Yeom told reporters after the game against the Gwangju KIA Tigers was canceled due to ground conditions on Tuesday. Lee Ji-gang, who was scheduled to start that day but was canceled, will take over the long relief role.
With the trade of Choi Won-tae, LG’s starting rotation needed to change. One of Lee Jeong-yong and Lee Ji-gang, who were the fourth and fifth starters, had to go to the bullpen. Yoon’s first choice was Lee Jung-yong. Lee Ji-gang was developing as a starter, and the team felt it would be more beneficial for Lee to move to the bullpen because of his experience as a setup man.
However, Lee’s performance changed Yeom’s mind. He showed that he can pitch well as a starter. After his first quality start against the Kiwoom Heroes in Jamsil on February 2, when he threw six innings of three-hit, no walks and four strikeouts, Lee threw five innings of two-hit, one-walk, six-strikeout ball against KIA at the Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on February 9. He was pulled from the game with a 3-0 lead and went on to earn his first career win in a 6-2 victory.
His four-game transition from setup man to starter struggled. In those four games, he pitched a total of 12 innings and gave up 11 runs. However, in the next two games, he pitched 11 shutout innings. This shows that he has made a solid adjustment to being a starter.
His ability to go five or more innings convinced Yeom to change his mind. “Baseball is all about the starters. It’s good to have a good middle, but the first thing is to stabilize the starters. “We have a lot of pitchers in the middle,” he said, “so I thought it would be helpful for Jung-yong to go out and pitch in the fifth inning. Even if he goes to the bullpen, it will be a plus, but it will be more of a plus if he starts.”
Despite the fact that KIA’s bats have been on a roll lately, Yeom gave Lee a pass for his steady performance. “Yesterday was a test. The KIA batting lineup has been good lately,” said Yeom. “He should have gained more confidence by striking out and inducing hits against big hitters like Na Sung-bum and Choi Hyung-woo.”안전놀이터
LG will go into the second half of the season with seven starters, including Lee Ji-kang and Kim Yoon-sik, in a five-man rotation of Casey Kelly, Adam Plutko, Choi Won-tae, Lim Chan-kyu, and Jung-yong. The pitching staff can fill in whenever there is a hole in the starting lineup, making them a starting powerhouse.