Hanwha Eagles offense in the top of the ninth inning with a 6-4 lead. Hanwha put closing pitcher Park Sang-won on the mound to protect its lead by two points. However, Park allowed leadoff batter Junghoon Lee to hit a double to the left-center field. After one out, Park gave up one run due to wild pitches and errors by the first baseman.
The Hanwha Eagles, which overturned the game 1-4, was on the verge of a reversal. At that time, Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho quickly decided to replace closing pitcher Park Sang-won. The pitcher Choi Won-ho chose was right-handed Lee Min-woo. Lee was far from making a save. Since his debut as a pro in 2017, he has pitched in 151 games, with only one save in 2019.
However, Lee lived up to the coach’s belief in the most important situation. With no outs and a runner on the first base who was trailing 6-5, he caught No. 4 Jeon Jun-woo with a fly ball to the left field to overcome a crisis, and the next batter, Noh Jin-hyuk, grounded out to the second base to complete the game. It was his second save in five years in front of a packed crowd.
Lee Min-woo took the mound in the top of the ninth inning with one out and one base on the first base with a 6-5 lead at home against the Lotte Giants at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 4th.
Lee Min-woo made his professional debut after receiving the first draft of the Kia Tigers in 2015. When he joined the team, he received as much as 240 million won (222,000 U.S. dollars) in down payment, which is highly anticipated. He consistently received opportunities from Kia. As a starting pitcher, he also garnered six wins (10 losses) in 2020.
However, he failed to see the light in Kia and made a fresh start in the Hanwha Eagles in 2022. He has shown potential as a relief pitcher in the Hanwha Eagles. He played a key role as a team that must win in the early days of this season. He was able to secure the victory in the game thanks to the trust of the coaching staff.
Coach Choi Won-ho praised Lee Min-woo after the game, saying, “Lee Min-woo made a meaningful save by skillfully defending the victory at the moment when the game flow was over.”
Lee Min-woo, who led the victory, said in an interview after the game, “I feel so good that it helped the team win rather 토토사이트 than making saves,” adding, “I was preparing because I thought I might go to the game if things were bad, but I had a chance.”
“The first batter was Jeon Joon-woo, but I threw a lot mainly on the ball because I thought let’s throw as low as possible because I had one shot,” he said, adding, “I just thought I wouldn’t get hit by a long hit because if I get hit by a big one, it will reverse the game.”
Lee Min-woo said, “When I was in KIA, I thought the starting pitcher was right for me, but I couldn’t do it well because I was getting more and more tired. So I wanted to be an interim pitcher, but I didn’t have a chance to do that in KIA,” adding, “I feel comfortable playing as an interim pitcher for Hanwha, and I think I’m doing better.”
“As the team continues to win now, the atmosphere is so good. I think the desire to win more is especially great this year,” he said. “I love the atmosphere of ‘Let’s win somehow’.”
“Right now, I feel like I’m going to block anyone from participating. Pitchers want to take the mound together. I think a lot about not missing an opportunity right now,” he said. “My personal goal for this season is to play in more than 50 games, and I want to contribute more to my team’s performance.”