"I wanted to get a hit"...LG's 'Contact Master' Vitamin Moon Sung-joo is back
"I wanted to get a hit"...LG's 'Contact Master' Vitamin Moon Sung-joo is back
Blog Article
"Yesterday (5th) was the first game, and maybe because I was very nervous, the timing was late."
LG Twins outfielder Moon Sung-joo started as the ninth batter and left fielder in the second game of the semi-playoff against KT in the "2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO Postseason" held at Jamsil Stadium on Sunday. He recorded two hits, one RBI, one run and one stolen base from three times at bat on the day. He contributed greatly to his team's 7-2 victory.스포츠토토
From his first at-bat, Moon displayed stellar performance. In the bottom of the third inning when LG was pulled 0-2, he had a hit to the left against KT starter Um Sang-baek, allowing no outs and continued scoring opportunities with runners on the first and second bases. After taking the first base, he succeeded in double-stealing with runner Park Hae-min on the second base, making runners on the second and third bases with no outs, to contribute to his scoring ability.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, when LG took the lead with 3 to 2, Moon scored a point that widened the gap between his teams. He hit an RBI timely hit by Eom Sang-baek, making it 4-2. With his team leading 5 to 2, he performed a sacrifice bunt operation perfectly at the bottom of the sixth inning with runners on the first and second bases with no outs, helping his team score additional points.
In the end, he shined in defense. With the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the ninth inning when LG was leading 7-2, Moon treated KT's main catcher Kang Baek-ho's hit with a jump catch. He kept his team's victory by blocking additional runs.
After the game, Moon said, "I did it without much thought. Players who did not play well in the first round, and (Park) Hae-min also made a hit and thought, 'I want to hit it, too.' I think heaven helped me well. (The last defense) entered the right field. At first, I couldn't judge, but heaven was on our side. All I could think about was that I was lucky to catch it so hard."
Moon has displayed sophisticated contact skills to contribute to LG's batting lineup. Although he failed to completely play this season due to his hamstring injury, he recorded a batting average of 0.315 (96 hits in 305 times at bat) and 48 RBIs (on-base plus slugging) of 0.791, in 96 games this year. While Moon was out due to injury, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yup expressed regret over Moon's absence several times, envisioning a batting lineup.
Entering the postseason, LG tried to use Moon as the key to the batting line. They wanted to deploy him as the ninth batter and serve as the link between the lower and upper hitters. Moon remained silent with no hits in three at-bats in the first game, but his batting ability, which is a long-term skill in the game, contributed to his team's victory.
"Yesterday was my first game, and maybe because I was so nervous, the timing was late," Moon said. "I think I got a hit at a good timing because I thought a lot about the timing today (6th)."
After giving up the first game of the Korean Series to KT last year, LG secured the second to fifth games, resulting in a valuable result of winning the Korean Series. The quasi-playoff is also similar this time. LG lost in the first game, but succeeded in counterattack by securing the second game.
Moon said, "I lost the first game and entered the second game, but the team did not feel down. I played the game with the mindset that I can win today. With my experience, I thought, 'I don't think I will lose easily. If we play ours again, I think we will get good results."
LG and KT will have their third semi-playoffs after a day off on July 7. LG will move to KT Wiz Park in Suwon for their third and fourth semi-playoffs after leaving their home stadium in Jamsil. "We will do our best to achieve good results in Suwon. We will take two days off and prepare for the playoffs," Moon said, vowing to continue the momentum in away games in Suwon.