LG Twins starting pitcher Son Ju-young has revealed the secret behind the team’s recent surge.
LG won 6-3 against the Doosan Bears in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Wednesday.
Starting pitcher Son Ju-young earned his fourth win of the season (3-3) with 5.1 innings of three-hit, three walks, four strikeouts and one earned run. His fastball was clocked at a high of 148 mph, a low of 141 mph, and an average of 145 mph. He threw 92 pitches in total, including 49 fastballs, 19 sliders, 18 curves, and six splitters.
All innings were scoreless except for one in the third. He had triple plays in the first, fourth, and fifth innings. He also showed his crisis management skills in the second inning when he escaped with runners on first and second with a 6-4-3 double play.
Speaking to the media after the game, Son said, “I lost two games to Doosan. Since it was the ‘Jamsil Rivalry Game,’ I had a feeling that I had to win with energy,” he said, adding that he threw harder and stronger.
The pitch that stood out the most today was his curveball. Before this day, Son used the curveball as his fourth pitch after his slider and splitter. Today, however, he threw 18 pitches, with the slider (19) taking center stage.
“I told (Park) Dong-won that I wanted to use a lot of curveballs, and I thought (Doosan hitters) would be looking for fastballs and sliders, so I threw a lot of curveballs early,” Son explained his strategy.
His reasoning for choosing the curveball is also clear. “I’ve been feeling it (the curve) for the last two or three games, and I told (Park) that I wanted to use it because I had a good feeling last year,” Son said.
He faced Doosan’s No. 4 hitter, Yang, three times and held him hitless. The highlight of his pitching performance came in the sixth inning, when he threw a fastball to Yang Ji with runners on first and second and induced a grounder to first base.
“Against Yang Ji, it went well as analyzed,” said Son Ju-young. “There was an analysis that my fastball was a little late. I knew he throws a fastball, but I paid a lot of attention to my fastball. I tried to throw it harder and more perfectly against Yang Ji, and I think it 토토 worked out.”
He is currently the best of the LG starters. Son Ju-young is 3-1 in his last four starts. The only loss came against KT Wiz on April 19, when he gave up five runs in five innings, but he went at least five innings in each of the other three games to secure the win.
Son revealed that the secret to his success is his “secret ritual” against Kim Jin-sung. “He always gives me good energy,” Son said. It’s been four matches now, and I’ve won three,” he emphasized.
The process of the ritual cannot be revealed. “There is a ritual. It’s a little awkward to be written about,” he said.
“In fact, against KT, I was so good in the third inning that I 안전한 파워볼사이트 said, ‘You’re awesome,’ but Kim Jin-sung said, ‘You shouldn’t say that,’ and then I gave up a run,” he said.
He said, “It’s okay to talk like this (in an interview). You just have to be quiet and not say anything during the match,” he added.
Son Ju-young said, “He (Kim Jin-sung) is taking care of me. He’s looking out for me because I’m learning how to play folkball and he’s following me around.”