“Not enough to subtract entries.”
Thank goodness. Lee Ho-yeon, 28, who has been an integral part of KT’s ascendancy in the offense, avoided a major injury. KT has been plagued by injuries every year, so the manager is also breathing a sigh of relief.
바카라사이트KT head coach Lee Kang-cheol met with the media ahead of the second day of the team’s three-game weekend series against Kiwoom in the 2023 KBO League at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Feb. 2 to explain Lee’s physical condition and review the previous day’s game.
In the previous game against Kiwoom, Lee Ho-yeon, who started at second base as the No. 2 hitter, was hit in the left elbow by a pitch from Kiwoom starter Jang Jae-young in the top of the third inning and went down. After falling to the ground, Lee was unable to get up for a while and was in a lot of pain. He immediately went to the hospital and was diagnosed with a simple bruise, but the pain was too much for him to play right away.
“I don’t think (Lee) will be able to play today. I don’t think he’ll be able to play for two or three days,” Lee said, adding, “It’s not enough to take him out of the lineup. However, we’ll have to wait and see.”
KT head coach Lee Kang-cheol. By Kang Young-jo kanjo@sportsseoul.com
Lee Ho-yeon has been making his presence felt in the KT uniform since arriving from Lotte via trade in May. Since joining KT, Lee has appeared in 61 games and is batting .288 with three home runs and 15 RBIs. In particular, Lee had a breakout month in June, when KT slowly showed signs of rebounding, batting .354 (17-for-48) with six RBIs in 15 games. He was the catalyst for KT’s rebound.
KT added infielder Lee Sang-ho to the first team for the day to minimize the loss of Lee Ho-yeon, who will be out for the foreseeable future.
Lee also commented on the previous day’s game. He said that “reliable man” Ko Young-pyo collapsed early in the game, but the batting lineup also got tangled up in Kiwoom starter Jang Jae-young’s unrelenting pitching.
The day before, KT used homegrown ace Ko Young-pyo but lost to Kiwoom 2-6. Ko gave up six runs in five innings and failed to record a quality start (QS) in 13 consecutive games. Furthermore, despite Kiwoom starter Jang Jae-young’s nine strikeouts, KT was unable to capitalize on its opportunities, scoring just two runs.
“I think (Ko) had a few bad pitches early yesterday because his changeup wasn’t working,” Lee said, “There are days like that. If he pitches well at any time, he is invincible,” Lee said. “The offense was off, too. They were trying to time their pitches, and the ball would fall out, and they would get strikes. At that point, I should have been more aggressive and put a batter on base, but it was my fault.”