A sudden rain shower couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the first-place LG Twins.
LG held its first training session during the All-Star break at Jamsil Stadium on the 17th. Players who did not play in the All-Star Game and the coaching staff had their first training session after a three-day break. LG coach Yeom Kyung-yup and six players who played in the All-Star Game, including Go Woo-seok, Park Dong-won, Oh Ji-hwan, Kim Hyun-soo, and Austin Kim Jin-sung, took the day off.바카라사이트
The team training, which started at 3 p.m., was reminiscent of spring training. The pitchers warmed up in the outfield, and the infielders ran the bases. The coaches took time to go over the plays that could happen in a game at first and third base. The coaches took the field. Kim Il-kyung was the pitcher, Kim Jung-jun was the second baseman, and Mo Chang-min was the third baseman.
As the pitchers and fielders gathered for defensive drills, it started to rain. A drill on how pitchers should handle ground balls with different runner situations followed. The rain continued to fall and it looked like batting practice would be held indoors. However, batting practice continued outdoors. All the first-team batters came out, including Hong Chang-ki, who leads the team in batting average, veteran Heo Do-hwan, Park Hae-min, Shin Min-jae, Moon Sung-joo, and Lee Jae-won.
The rain wasn’t too heavy, so the players continued their batting practice in two batting cages in the rain. We thought the rain would stop soon, but it didn’t. In fact, the rain increased slightly. As they continued to bat, water began to pool in the infield.
LG finished the first half in first place with 49 wins, 2 draws and 30 losses, a winning percentage of 6.2 per cent. They are 2.5 games behind second-place SSG Landers (46 wins, 1 draw, 32 losses).
The team had a tough start to the season, with a domino effect of injuries to several main players, starting with Go Woo-seok’s injury, but they managed to finish on top thanks to their solid depth.
The struggles continued in the second half. Park Myung-geun, who played a big role in the bullpen as a rookie, was pulled due to elbow discomfort, and set-up man Jung Woo-young was sidelined with back pain on the last day of the first half.
The fourth or fifth starter behind Casey Kelly, Adam Plutko, and Chan-kyu Lim is unclear. Lee Jung-yong, who converted from setup man to starter, hasn’t pitched yet, so the bullpen is full of pitchers and the fifth starter is virtually non-existent, so when the fourth and fifth starters pitch, it’s a “bullpen day”. The bullpen could be overloaded.
LG shouldn’t have too much trouble with its bullpen, with Yoo Young-chan and Baek Seung-hyun expected to return from injury for the start of the second half. However, it’s clear that the starters will need to pitch longer innings.
The bats need to make up for the difficult mound. LG leads the league with a 3.61 ERA, but its bats are also leading the league with a 2.085 batting average. In July, however, the bats slowed down a bit, going 2-for-7. There have been games where the bullpen has pitched well and the offence hasn’t come through.
Until the mound stabilises, which is not yet perfect, the batting line-up is essential.
The heavens must have been impressed with how hard the LG batters hit in the rain, because the rain stopped around 4.30pm. In the sweltering heat, LG’s batsmen batted until the end to prepare for the second half of the game.
LG will have a night training session at 6.30pm on the 18th, and after a day’s rest, they will train in the locker room once more on the 20th before starting the first three-game series of the second half against SSG Landers on the 21st.