KIA Tigers ace Yang Hyun-jong (35) broke out of his slump.
Yang Hyun-jong started a game against the Kiwoom Heroes of the 2023 Shinhan Bank Solar KBO League at the Gocheok Sky Dome on June 13 and pitched five innings of five-hit ball, striking out six and allowing one run (unearned).
After an up-and-down start to the year, Yang has been even more erratic in June.
He’s allowed 20 hits in his last two games (6⅓ innings) and had a .313 batting average on the season prior to those games.
Kia manager Kim Jong-kook said that Yang had been under a lot of stress lately, and he hoped to see him bounce back against Kiwoom.
Yang fulfilled his manager’s wishes.
With a fastball that topped out at 149 km/h, he mixed in a slider, changeup, and curveball to shut down a Kiwoom lineup that has been hitting well of late. He was aggressive enough to not walk a single batter.
In the bottom of the first inning, Yang gave up a single to Kim Hye-sung and then walked Lee Jung-hoo to put runners on first and second. Edison Russell immediately followed with a single, but Lee got Lee Hyung-jong to pop out to shortstop to end the threat.
He didn’t allow another run.
Yang allowed runners to reach base in the second, fourth, and fifth innings, but his crisis management skills kept him from allowing any more runs.
She retired both Lee Ji-young and Kim Jun-wan with runners on first and second in the second inning, and struck out Lee Ji-young with runners on first and second in the fourth.먹튀검증
Yang handed the mound to Park Jun-pyo in the sixth inning with the score 1-0. He threw 98 pitches.
He lowered his season ERA from 4.55 to 4.19 and is looking to break into the three-run range.
If KIA fails to turn the tide, Yang will suffer his fourth loss of the season. A loss would be his third straight.
