SSG Landers’ Oh Won-seok pitched his best game of the season. Coincidentally, he pitched well in the game after a walk with manager Lee Sung-yong. Oh said he enjoyed the time he spent talking to Lee.
Won-seok started the game against the Kiwoom Heroes of the 2024 Shinhan SOL BANK KBO League at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 31, throwing 80 pitches over six innings, allowing two runs and three hits (one home run) with one walk and eight strikeouts to record his fourth win of the season. SSG won the game 4-2 and completed a two-game sweep behind Oh’s strong pitching.
Oh shut down the Kiwoom bats with a complete game shutout. He was nearly flawless except for Kim Hwi-gun’s RBI single with runners on first and second in the second inning and Kim Hye-sung’s solo shot to left field with the bases loaded in the sixth inning.
“We had a long losing streak, but we broke it with a win on the 30th,” said Oh Won-seok. We wanted to create an atmosphere where we could win again, and I’m glad we were able to do that,” said Oh.
Meanwhile, Lee said in a pre-match interview, “Yesterday (the 30th), we took a walk. We talked about a lot of things while walking. It’s hard to call it a meeting, so we did it this way.”
“I gave them some tips, but I don’t know what they’ll think,” Lee said, but added, “I told them that it would be good to use a changeup with a big angle, and that they need to time it, not throw it to every batter. For more details, please ask Won-seok Oh.”
When asked what they talked about specifically, Oh said, “The manager said, ‘Don’t try to be too good, because if you think that way, you’ll have a hard time facing 바카라 hitters. Be relaxed and believe in yourself,’” he said.
Oh added, “I hope (the walks) will continue in the future. It was good to talk to the manager,” he added.
In addition to his fastball (35 pitches), which reached a maximum speed of 146 kilometers per hour, Oh threw a curveball (23 pitches), slider (11 pitches), and forkball (11 pitches). The curveball stood out for its power.
“Since I’ve been using a lot of curveballs, my results have been going well. I also feel comfortable facing hitters.”
With 80 pitches in the sixth inning, it was understandable that he would be hungry for the seventh inning. “My coach actually asked me after I came down to the mound after the sixth inning and said, ‘I had a hard time,’ and then immediately afterward, he asked me, ‘Do you want to go to the seventh inning?’ I said yes, but he said he was joking,” Oh said with a hint of regret.