A personal best 109-pitch reversal, Won-seok Oh’s “please” day, and a pitching coach’s advice to “not be afraid”
SSG Landers left-hander Oh Won-seok is all smiles. His pitching coach’s advice helped him a lot.
SSG won the sixth game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank KBO SOL Doosan Bears 3-1 on April 21 at Jamsil Stadium. Starting pitcher Oh Won-seok pitched five innings of four-hit ball with two walks and five strikeouts to earn his fifth win of the season.
“I tried to pitch aggressively with the mindset of trusting the catcher and throwing to the center, but it feels good to win the game,” Oh said. “It was difficult because of the increased pitch count in the first inning, but I was able to regain my mindset and keep throwing while keeping the bases loaded.”안전놀이터
After getting leadoff hitter Jung Soo-bin to ground out to the second baseman, he gave up a single to Kim Jae-hwan and a walk to Yang Seok-hwan. After getting Yang to fly out to second, he gave up a single to Kang Seung-ho to load the bases. However, he got Park Kye-beom to fly out to left field to save the day.
After getting out of a jam with runners on first and second in the fourth inning, he faced another threat in the fifth. With two on and one out, Yang gave up a single to right-center. He then gave up a walk to Kang Seung-ho. Second out of the inning. However, he retired Park Kye-beom in order in the fifth inning and got through the inning without allowing a run.
“I tried to pitch aggressively with the mindset of trusting the catcher and throwing to the center, but it feels good to win the game,” Oh Won-seok said. Manager Kim Won-hyung said, “Won-seok threw a lot of pitches in the first inning, but he pitched well until the fifth inning. Congratulations to him for being the winning pitcher.”
[OSEN=Jamsil, Reporter Lee Dae-sun] On the afternoon of June 21, the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League match between the Doosan Bears and SSG Landers was held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. SSG starting pitcher Oh Won-seok pitches in the bottom of the first inning. 2023.06.21 /sunday@osen.co.kr
He said, “When I always give up a walk, the inning goes weird. So I was like, ‘Please,’ but in the end, the crisis came,” he said. “(In the fifth inning), Coach Cho Ung-chun said, ‘Think of it as the last inning, the last batter, and throw confidently. Don’t be afraid of walks,’ and I’m glad I was able to save the day.” He expressed his gratitude.
From the sixth inning onward, Moon Seung-won, Ko Hyo-joon, Noh Kyung-eun, Lee Roon, and Seo Jin-yong took the mound to secure the win. At the plate, Choi Ji-hoon, Eredia, and Choi Jun-woo helped secure the win with RBI singles.
Won-seok Oh said, “I didn’t win the game alone, but I was able to do so thanks to my teammates who played good defense, gave up no runs, and protected the lead until the end. It was a game where I could feel the cohesion of the team.”
It was a 109-pitch battle. While he didn’t go the distance, he overcame two bases-loaded situations to pick up his first win in five games since a 5⅔-inning no-hitter against NC on March 17. The pitch count was also a career high. The previous high was 106 pitches on Aug. 25, 2022, against the Suwon KT. At that time, Oh Won-seok pitched 5⅔ innings and allowed one run (unearned).
“I knew it was the highest number of pitches, but I would have liked to throw more innings and record the highest number of pitches, but I was a little disappointed today,” Oh said, adding, “Next time, I want to throw more innings and record the highest number of pitches.”