LG closer Ko Woo-seok recorded his first ‘two-inning save’ in seven years as a professional. It was an unfamiliar experience in the 353rd game of his career.

Ko Woo-seok pitched two innings of one-hit ball with two walks and one strikeout in the eighth inning of a 4-3 win over KIA at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field on April 19 to earn the save.

Choi Dong-hwan came on for LG in the eighth inning with a 4-1 lead. After Lee Ji-gang (five scoreless innings), Kim Jin-sung (one run in one inning) and Baek Seung-hyun (one run in one inning) pitched. Choi took over in the eighth inning to close out the game.

Choi, who has no holds this season, gave up a single to Choi Won-jun, a double to Kim Do-young in right-center, and a double to Na Sung-beom. The score was now 3-4 with one out. With the bases loaded, Yeom immediately brought in Go Woo-seok.

He faced Choi Hyung-woo and hit a three-pitch curveball that turned into a wild pitch. Choi struck out swinging on a curveball. He got Kim Sun-bin to fly out to right field, stranding Socrates at second and third, and then got Byun Woo-hyuk to ground out to second base.

In the top of the ninth, Go Woo-seok was hit by a pitch and a walk to put runners on first and third. He struck out Kim Do-young with a 153-kilometer fastball to end the game. It was his first two-inning save in his professional debut.

This is the first time this season that Ko has pitched two innings. It’s been 359 days since he pitched two innings. In 2021, the first year under former manager Ryu Ji-hyun, Ko was closely managed and pitched only one multi-inning game and no two-inning games. In his final appearance of the season, on October 29 against Lotte, he pitched 1⅓ innings to earn a save.

He pitched two innings three times last year. On April 17, he pitched two innings of one-hit ball against Hanwha, giving up one run; on July 30, he pitched two innings of three-hit ball against KT, giving up two runs; and on September 25, he pitched two innings of two-hit ball against SSG, striking out four.

However, a two-inning save is a first for Ko. He has pitched two innings after allowing the tying run to score, or two innings in extra innings with the game tied. But this was the first time he pitched two innings with a one-run lead. It was a unique experience. 메이저놀이터

At the end of the season, Yeom Kyung-yup has been relying on Go Woo-seok to pitch multiple innings in must-win games. In September, Go has recorded two five-out saves.

Against KT on September 5, he came in with runners on first and second in the eighth inning of a 5-4 game to prevent the tying run from scoring, and in the ninth inning, he preserved the one-run lead without allowing an earned run to earn a five-out save.

In the first game of the doubleheader against SSG on Nov. 17, he came on in the eighth inning with runners on second and third with a 5-3 lead. Go threw four straight 153-155km fastballs to pinch-hitter Kim Kang-min for strikes.

He then threw five consecutive 154-155km fastballs to Shin-Soo Choo. In a three-ball, one-strike at-bat, he hit a 155-kilometer fastball to center field to get out of the jam. With the score 8-3 in favor of LG in the bottom of the eighth, he closed out the game with a comfortable triple play in the ninth to earn the save.

On the 19th, after a day’s rest, Yeom called on Go Woo-seok for a two-inning save, and he showed the majesty of last year’s save king. On the 19th, he topped out at 156km/h against KIA. He did it twice, once in the ninth inning against Oh Seon-woo. He also hit 155km four times.

After a brief period of confusion as he stuck to a pitch mix that included a lot of changeups (cutters and curves), he is now adjusting to the fastball-oriented signature of the catcher. He will take part in the Hangzhou Asian Games team’s call-up workout on the 23rd. He is expected to throw one more game before the 22nd.