LG Twins’ Chan-kyu Lim has fulfilled his ‘streak stopper’ mission to perfection.
LG snapped a two-game losing streak with a 7-4 victory over the Samsung Lions in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Saturday. With the win, the team extended its lead over second-place SSG Landers to 4.5 games.
Starting pitcher Lim Chan-kyu pitched five innings, allowing one run on five hits (one home run) and three walks while striking out seven to earn his eighth win of the season. With four days of rest after the Jamsil Kiwoom Heroes game on the first day, Im minimized the damage in his five innings of work.
Although he struggled to keep runners on base in every inning except the fourth, he only gave up one run. He showed his crisis management skills by striking out the side with no outs in the third and runners on second and third in the fifth. LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop also praised Im’s pitching, saying, “There were many crises in the early innings, but he handled them well and played his role as a starting pitcher.”
After winning two games in a row against the Jamsil Kiwoom Heroes on the 1st, Im Chan-kyu said, “It’s great to break the team’s losing streak. Although I couldn’t throw more innings, I think I did my minimum role well,” he said. “Being a starting pitcher is always a responsible part because you have to pitch with five days off, and there are days when the results are not good, but I think it is the role of a starting pitcher to play a good role consistently over the course of a year, so it was a good day because I think I was the cornerstone of the team’s victory rather than winning because I pitched well.”
Looking back at the most critical moment, the bases loaded situation in the bottom of the third inning, Lim Chan-kyu said, “I was at a big disadvantage when I was faced with three balls, but (when Kang Min-ho hit a straight line drive to second base), second baseman (Shin) Min-jae played good defense and gave me some strength, and catcher (Park) Dong-won had a good lead on his brother, so I tried to trust and throw accurately, but I think I got a lot of luck.”안전놀이터
He roared and pumped his fists after each of his crucial strikeouts in the fourth and fifth innings. After the end of the fifth inning, he danced while facing the outfield.
“I think that a strikeout is just a gift of chance,” Lim said of his gesture. I went into it with the mindset of just scoring a run, but I think it worked out well, and I think it’s an expression of the fact that the hitters got out of a jam momentarily, like doing a ceremony after a hit.” “As for the dance, (Oh) Ji-hwan told me that his brother was going to throw well today, so I said I’d dance on the mound if he was right, but when I finished, he was looking at me, so I danced, but it wasn’t to demean or provoke the opponent. The action was bigger than I thought it would be, so I think I need to be a little more restrained,” he smiled.
There was also a crisis for Im Chan-kyu, who had risen steeply in the early part of the season to earn the third starting spot. After going 1-1 with a 4.45 ERA in five starts and 28 1/3 innings in June, Im faltered last month with a 6.75 ERA in two starts and 9 1/3 innings.