It was a memorable game in which one can feel why Yang Hyeon-jong (36, Kia Tigers) is called a great pitcher. Yang led the Korean Series to another victory in his first start in seven years.

Yang Hyun-jong started Game 2 of the 2024 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO Postseason (KS, best-of-seven series) against the Samsung Lions at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on the 23rd and led KIA to an 8-3 victory with eight hits, two walks, five strikeouts and two runs (one earned run) in five ⅓ innings.

As a result, Kia has secured a 90 percent chance of winning the Korean Series, as it secured two wins on a day-to-day basis following a 5-1 victory in the first round. Eighteen of the 20 teams that won the first and second rounds of the Korean Series have been crowned as champions.메이저사이트

Yang Hyun-jong's good pitching laid the groundwork for the victory, with the batters intensively exploding the long and short 10 hits. It was the first Korean Series appearance and starting win for Yang in seven years. He led KIA to a 1-0 victory in 2017 with nine innings of four hits, two walks and 11 strikeouts in the second game of the Korean Series against the Doosan Bears, which was the first 1-0 shutout victory in the KBO Korean Series.

Yang Hyun-jong, who was interviewed with Kim Do-young after the game, said, "All I can say is that the team wins. The fielders scored enough points in the beginning, and I changed the ball mix and went aggressively. I couldn't throw many innings, but I was able to win two consecutive games in a good mood by blocking it with the least number of runs."

Yang set a new record with the most strikeouts in his career during the regular season and 170 innings for 10 consecutive seasons, and made another name in KBO history with this victory. At the age of 36 years, seven months and 22 days, Yang broke the record of the oldest starting pitcher for a Korean player in the Korean Series.

The previous record was 36 years, 6 months, and 2 days when current KBO Power Reinforcement Committee Chairman Cho Gye-hyun (then Doosan Bears) won Game 4 of the Korean Series at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on November 3, 2000. Including foreign players, Robello Manzanio (then LG Twins) won Game 2 of the Korean Series against Samsung on November 4, 2002 at Daegu Civic Stadium.

Yang said, "I feel like I'm still 27 years old. I thought the word 'oldest' only applies to (Choi) Hyung-woo. It's a little strange that the word 'oldest' has been attached to me, and time flies so fast," smiling, "I don't think the word 'oldest' suits me yet. I want to play baseball more and throw it on the mound. I hope other players will break this record soon."

Yang did not display overwhelming pitching performance as before. However, he only threw fastballs with 17 pitches down, and erased two innings to 18 pitches in no time. Rather, he took advantage of Samsung's aggressive entry strategy to ease the situation. The time he recognized this was truly the dignity of an experienced veteran.

Yang Hyun-jong explained, "When I saw Kim Ji-chan's reaction at the first pitch in the top of the first inning, I thought, 'Samsung is coming out aggressively.' I didn't have any intention of avoiding it, and I felt that my fastball strength was okay when I warmed up or threw it at the first pitch."

"I felt that if I throw a fastball, I will not be hit by long balls in a row. I think my aggressive pitching reduced the number of pitches I pitched until the fourth inning, and it went as well as I thought," he added.

The second game on the day was considered a must-see game for Kia. The reason was that Samsung could not afford to lose the game where it produced Yang as it was in a situation where Won Tae-in and Denny Reyes could not afford to throw one-two punch. Such a situation must have been a burden to Yang. Furthermore, the temperature plummeted due to rain that lasted for two days, making it difficult to recover condition.

However, the great pitcher was determined. "Personally, I thought the flow of the game would change depending on my condition. I thought it would be a one-sided game if I threw it with confidence, and on the contrary, if I was nervous or failed to control my ball, it would be a slugfest. There were crises from the beginning and many runners on base, but I was lucky," Yang said in a humble manner.

"Not only me, but also pitchers want to throw a lot on a cold day. It's because I have a goal or a dream that I want to throw in the Korean Series. So I didn't think it was cold and there was no obstacle to throwing," he said with force.

Now Yang is preparing for a potential fifth game. With the first game postponed for two consecutive days, Kia will be able to release Eric Lauer in the third game and James Nail in the fourth game.

"I think we need to take a four-day break (to play in Game 5). With the series postponed for two days, Samsung has a good chance, but we will also play in Game 4. Then, I need to prepare for Game 5," he said. "We have not much time to relax just because we have won two games. We need to set the game up as soon as possible when the mood comes our way. I will also prepare again in time for Game 5."