[OSEN=Suwon, Yong-seop Han] The KT Wiz and LG Twins will face off in the 14th game of the season at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on April 20. It's a big matchup for the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, but the starting matchups are not.
KT has one spot open in its starting rotation due to the injury absence of Choi Soon-joon (out for the season) and Uhm Sang-baek (ribs). Manager Lee Kang-cheol, who is on a nine-game road trip including a doubleheader, decided to use an alternate starter against LG and announced Ha Jun-ho (34) as the starter.
Lee said, "Our starting pitching is in a funk against LG. We need a temporary starter to pitch against LG next week (26th)," Lee sighed. "It would be perfect if it rained tomorrow (the 20th)...but there is a rain forecast, but it seems to be a little bit and then stop," he lamented. 안전토토사이트
From the bullpen, Ha Jun-ho, a veteran left-handed pitcher, was selected to start for LG on the 20th. It seems that LG chose a left-handed pitcher against left-handed batters. However, Ha has a recent history with LG.
About two weeks ago, in the LG-KT game in Suwon on April 7, Ha Jun-ho pitched the ninth inning, prompting a series of bench-clearing saguro.
LG led 7-3 in the top of the ninth, putting runners on second and third with one out, and scoring two more runs on a fielding error on a missed grounder. With runners on first and second, Oh Ji-hwan was hit in the lower back by a Ha Jun-ho fastball and couldn't contain the pain. After showing some sensitivity, Oh went to first base.
In the second inning, Moon Sung-ju hit a pushing fastball that hit him in the elbow area, making the score 10-3. Then came another double play. This time, it was a dizzying sight. Ha Jun-ho threw a 142-kilometer fastball right at Park Hae-min's face. He ducked and dodged, but fell backwards. He got up and threw his helmet away. Umpire Park Jong-chul stopped him.
Players from both teams came out of the dugout one by one to clear the benches. LG and KT players walked to the first and third base foul lines and fought. Luckily, it didn't get physical. A ball hit Park Hae-min on the shoulder of his jersey and he was thrown out at the plate.
Ha went one inning on the day, allowing four runs (one earned) on two hits, one walk and three strikeouts. In 10 appearances this season, he is winless with a 2.89 ERA. He is primarily a reliever out of the bullpen. He faced only one batter against Hanwha on April 18. He starts against LG Electronics on one day's rest.
KT will likely look to Ha for 2-3 innings, followed by a bullpen day. A rainout on the 20th would be the best case scenario for KT.