Kim Min-woo (28-Hanwha Eagles) wasn’t perfect, but he did his job. Instead of power, he showed seasoning.
Kim Min-woo started the 2023 KBO League regular season game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Monday and went five innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Despite giving up two runs, including an unearned run, he was able to minimize the damage by making cautious pitches in each situation. With no run support and an 0-2 count, he handed the mound over to Han Seung-hyuk in the sixth inning.
Kim Min-woo’s pitches did not stand out on this day. His fastball topped out at 143 km/h and averaged 140 km/h. His slowest pitch was down to 136 km/h.
He couldn’t get the Doosan hitters to hit, but he didn’t get crushed either. He relied on the wide Jamsil outfield to induce ground balls to get him out of trouble.
After a scoreless first inning with a single, Kim gave up a run in the second. He allowed leadoff hitter Yang Seok-hwan to reach on an error. Third baseman Noh Si-hwan made a strong catch, but the ball bounced in front of the first baseman and bounced back, sending Yang to second. Kim Min-woo gave up a walk to the next batter, Kim Jae-hwan, and a batter later, Hong Sung-ho lined a single to right field between first and second for the first unearned run.
The third inning fell to the Doosan table setters. Noh Si-hwan hit a double to left-center off leadoff hitter Jung Soo-bin. Noh’s forked ball was effectively pushed away by Jeong Soo-bin, and the outfielder couldn’t handle it properly, allowing Jeong Soo-bin to reach second base. Doosan added a run in the next at-bat when Kim Dae-i singled, and Yang Yang-ji added a run with a huge sacrifice fly.
But Kim would not be deterred. He retired back-to-back Yang and Kim Jae-hwan centered batters in the third inning on a high fastball and a grounder to third base. He gave up a double to Hong Seong-ho in the fourth, but retired the next three batters on a fly ball, grounder and strikeout to keep the game scoreless. 먹튀검증
In the fifth inning, the Doosan bats came out for the third time. It was the same batting order that gave up the runs earlier. This time, Kim Min-woo got the win. He induced grounders to both Jeong Soo-bin and Kim Dae-hyun with pitches in the strike zone, and after a full-count battle with Yang Ji, he induced another grounder with a six-pitch fastball to close out the fifth inning.
It was five innings of one-run ball, but it wasn’t enough to win the game. Kim Min-woo handed the mound over to Han Seung-hyuk to close out the sixth inning. Instead of a win, he was faced with a loss and had to settle for lowering his ERA from 7.49 to 6.93.