Yang Hyun-jong (35-KIA Tigers) has many fond memories of Incheon. But his quest for 10 wins in the promised land came to an end for the ninth consecutive year. SSG Landers’ Kim Chan-hyung shut him down.

Yang Hyun-jong started against the SSG Landers in the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League 2023 at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on April 30, allowing three runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out two in 6⅓ innings. Despite the offense’s run support, Yang faltered in the middle of the game and was eventually pulled after failing to meet the winning pitcher requirement. This ended Yang’s streak of consecutive 10-win seasons at eight years.

It was a very important game for Yang. Prior to this game, Yang had a 7-10 record with a 3.82 ERA in 25 games. He needed to win all three of his remaining starts, including the one against SSG, to reach 10 wins for the ninth straight year. If he didn’t get the win, the streak would be broken.

Only one other pitcher in KBO history has won 10 games in nine consecutive years. KT Wiz manager Lee Kang-cheol is the only other person to have double-digit wins in 10 consecutive years from 1989 to 1998, when he was with the Hattae Tigers. Yang Hyun-jong followed suit with eight consecutive 10-win seasons from 2014 to 2022.

Yang was very attached to his 10-win streak, as it was a sign of his consistency. This year, however, she struggled with her form and was sent to the second team. What’s more, he wasn’t getting any help from his teammates. When Yang Hyun-jong started, the team had a 3.88 run support, which ranked 15th in the division. This compares to 6.95 runs per game for first-place KT Wiz Wes Benjamin. Yang has been fighting a lonely battle on the mound.

At the beginning of the game, there were high hopes that Yang would be the winning pitcher. Yang shut down the SSG bats to perfection, and the bats responded with a flurry of home runs to back up the ace. SSG batted eight right-handed batters in the lineup against the left-hander, but they didn’t seem to have much fun.

While Yang has a .234 batting average against lefties this season, he has a .320 batting average against righties. However, Yang continued to pitch against the SSG, rekindling his memories of being strong against them. This year, Yang went 3-1 with a 2.96 ERA in four games against SSG. Two of those wins came at SSG’s Landers Field. Known as the “Landers Killer,” Yang dominated the SSG bats early in the game.

He pitched a perfect game until the fifth inning. The first inning started with a triple play. In the second inning, he was threatened by Ha Jae-hoon’s double to left field, but he retired the next two batters to keep the game scoreless. In the third inning, he gave up a single to Oh Tae-gon in left-center and a stolen base to put runners in scoring position, but he got the next batter, Kim Kang-min, to ground out to first base to keep the scoreless streak alive.

Yang Hyun-jong kept the momentum going. He continued to pitch well with the help of his defense. The fourth and fifth innings ended with a triple play. 스포츠토토