“Every day, I talk with the pitching coaches. Who should I send to the bullpen?”메이저놀이터
NC Dinos at the center of the fierce battle for the top 5. There is another concern that complicates NC coach Kang In-kwon’s head.
NC will play the last game of the weekend series against Doosan Bears at Jamsil Stadium on the 20th.
NC’s franchise star Lee Jae-hak’s return to the starting lineup is right in front of him. Currently, NC’s starting lineup includes foreign pitchers Pedi and Tanner, Choi Seong-young, and Lee Jae-hak.
Song Myeong-ki and Shin Min-hyeok are fighting over the remaining spot. Director Kang sighed, “First of all, Lee Jae-hak will return next week. I’m still thinking about who to choose between the two.”
Song Myung-ki appeared in 25 games (13 starts) this year and digested 80⅔ innings, recording 3 wins and 7 losses with an ERA of 5.36. Entering August, he displayed impressive pitching, achieving two quality starts (less than 3 earned runs in 6 or more innings).
But he doesn’t deserve a spot in the starting lineup. He also has the appearance of bolstering the bullpen. Among Ryu Ji-wook and Kim Si-hoon, who form the core of NC Pil Seung-jo, Kim Si-hoon’s pitch is not the same as before. This is why Song Myeong-gi, who has a strong fastball, is considered first rather than Shin Min-hyeok, who has good pitches and breaking balls.
Manager Kang said, “At the beginning of the season, Song Myung-ki showed a good performance in the bullpen. So I tried using Song Myung-ki as a bullpen, but it didn’t work well when I went to the starter and came back. The old urgency comes back.”
Shin Min-hyeok recorded 4 wins and 5 losses with an ERA of 4.24 while digesting 85 innings in 19 games (18 starts). He showed a better performance than Song Myung-ki as a relatively starting pitcher.
The timing of Gu Chang-mo’s return is undecided. He is still in the process of digesting the 20m long toss. Along with Lee Jae-hak’s return, Lee Yong-joon plans to prepare as an alternative starter at Futures.