With more balls than strikes, he couldn’t win the game.
Jang Jae-young of the Kiwoom Heroes started the 15th game of the season against the NC Dinos of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at NC Park in Changwon on July 7, but struggled, giving up five runs on four hits and seven walks in two innings.스포츠토토
Prior to this game, Jang was 1-3 with a 4.78 ERA in 18 games. He’s a fireballer with a fastball, but he’s always been labeled with pitching anxiety.
In his previous start against the KT Wiz in Gocheok on July 1, he gave up one run in 4.2 innings but walked nine batters. On July 30 against the Samsung Lions in Gocheok, he gave up six runs on four hits and two walks in 0.2 innings before being ejected for a head shot.
This day was no different. He gave up four straight pitches to leadoff hitter Son As-seob. He got Park Min-woo to fly out to center field, but gave up another single to Park Gun-woo. He got Jason Martin to strike out swinging on a 140-kilometer cutter to end the threat, but a wild pitch was followed by a walk to Kwon Hee-dong to load the bases.
A double by Oh Young-soo advanced the runners to second and third on a wild pitch. He then gave up another walk to Do Tae-hoon. In the first inning alone, he allowed four walks. A double by Kim Hyung-jun, who has been hitting well lately, brought the number of runs in the first inning to four. Kim Joo-won’s hard-hit ball was caught by Kim Hwi-jip with a flying catch to end the first inning.
Jang Jae-young threw 33 pitches in the first inning alone, giving up four runs on two hits and four walks with one strikeout.
Jang Jae-young was also shaky in the second inning. He gave up a leadoff single to Son As-seob. He got Park Min-woo to fly out to right field, but he was unsteady with his pitches again and gave up back-to-back singles to Park Gun-woo and Martin to load the bases. He flied out to center field, but Son As-seob used his quick feet to drive in a run. Oh was hit by a pitch, but a quick relay play by the fielders threw out Park Gun-woo at home to prevent further damage.
Jang Jae-young didn’t make it out of the third inning. He walked the leadoff batter, Do Tae-hoon, and then promptly retired the side. He handed the ball over to Yoon Seok-won.
On the day, Jang gave up five runs on seven hits and seven walks (five strikeouts, two wild pitches) in 2.2 innings. He threw 62 pitches. 41 fastballs and 21 sliders. He struggled with both pitches, but couldn’t overcome his velocity issues. He threw more balls (35) than strikes (27).
Before the game, Kiwoom coach Hong Won-ki said, “He still needs time. He was a talented player in high school, but amateur and professional are different. It depends on how much he works on himself.”
He is definitely one of the top prospects, but he still has a long way to go.