Will there be another "rain variable" in the professional baseball playoff.
The LG Twins and the Samsung Lions will play the fourth game of the 2024 professional baseball PO at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Wednesday. Samsung leads LG with two wins and one loss in the series. The PO will be held with three wins out of five games.
Samsung had eight home runs and scored 10 consecutive points in the first and second games held at its home turf in Daegu, gaining the upper hand. However, "defending champion" LG won the third game at Jamsil home thanks to good pitching by Lim Chan-kyu and Elijah Hernandez, and launched a counterattack.
Depending on the outcome of the fourth round match, the situation will likely fluctuate greatly. If Samsung wins, the PO will be over. However, if LG wins, the game will go back to square one.
However, there is a variable. It is "rain news." A rain forecast was issued in Jamsil-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the day. If it rains enough to make it difficult for the game to proceed, the PO schedule will be pushed back by one day. Even ahead of the second match, which was scheduled to be held at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Wednesday, the game was not held as planned due to rain. It was the sixth cancellation of the rain in PO history.
If Game 4 is postponed due to rain, chances are high that the composition of the two teams' head coaches will completely change. For now, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop heralded Detrick N.S. as the starting pitcher for Game 4, and Samsung manager Park Jin-man as Denny Reyes.
Manager Yeom changed the starting pitcher when the game was canceled in rain during the second game. Originally, he was scheduled to start Ence in the second game on the 14th, but Son Joo-young took the starting mound in the second game on the 15th, a day behind. Coach Park put Won Tae-in on the mound as he had announced without any change. At that time, Samsung won the game 10-5.
If the game schedule is delayed again this time, LG is likely to change its existing plans. This is because it depends on whether Hernandez, who is playing in the fall baseball, will play or not.
Hernandez showed dedication to taking the mound in all five games of KT Wiz and semi-PO. His performance is even more impressive. He pitched seven ⅓ innings in the semi-PO, and pitched five hits, no run, and 10 strikeouts to build two saves and one hold.
After the victory on Thursday, Yeom said he planned his strategy with the rain forecast in mind the next day. Asked if Hernandez will take the mound tomorrow (Game 4) as well, Yeom said with a smile, "I can't come out. Tomorrow is going to rain." "That's why I threw a lot of pitches today. I thought about the rain forecast tomorrow," he said. "If it hadn't been for the rain forecast, I might have thrown Ends and Hernandez separately."
Hernandez took the mound for the first time at the PO, and took the mound alone from the sixth inning to the ninth inning with one out. He pitched 60 pitches during three ⅔ innings, and pitched two hits, five strikeouts, and no runs.
If the match is canceled due to rain on Wednesday, LG's method of using Hernandez will be different. "I'm sorry, but this is the best card that we can win," Yeom said. "I'll take a day off and check my physical condition and release it the next day if possible." However, he also hinted that if the match goes as planned, he would not deploy Hernandez.
Hernandez also said he would play in the next game if possible. Asked if he would be able to take the mound in the next game if the rain is canceled on Wednesday, Hernandez said he is officially ready. However, he said, "I have to wake up tomorrow morning and check my physical condition. That's how I can talk about it," adding, "I'll listen carefully to my physical reaction." 메이저사이트
Samsung manager Park Jin-man, on the other hand, did not make any particular comment on the rain forecast. However, he said, "There is a certain starter who is Reyes and Won Tae-in. All other pitchers including Hwang Dong-jae, the starting pitcher of Game 3, will move to the bullpen."