Despite various controversies, Kim Won-joong (Lotte Giants) is undoubtedly a good closing pitcher. Since establishing himself as Lotte's closing pitcher in 2020, he has recorded many saves every year, including 35 saves in 2021 and 30 saves in 2023. Since 2020, Kim has recorded a total of 132 saves through last year, and Oh Seung-hwan (Samsung Lions and 150 saves) was the only KBO League pitcher who recorded more saves than Kim.안전놀이터

But he has an uncomfortable record here: the Incheon jinx. Kim was not such a weak player against Incheon and SSG until 2022. It was not very good, but it was not a very bad performance either. However, his performance dropped significantly from 2023 to 2024. Kim posted an ERA of 7.90 against SSG over the past two years, and he has posted an ERA of 27.00 in five games he played at Incheon SSG Landers Field over the past two years. He also made only one save.

Notably, he played in three games with an ERA of 32.40 last year, which was nightmare. Notably, he had four hits (one homer) and five runs during ⅔ innings at a game on July 31. He bowed his head in a shocking upset loss. Kim Won-joong also made a blon save in a match against SSG held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Saturday, signaling a rough start to the season. It was his first appearance in the season, but he failed to start the season in a good mood.

Lotte's starter Tucker Davidson led the team's atmosphere until the middle of the game with seven innings of one run, and in the eighth inning with a 2-1 lead, Jung Chul-won neatly caught one inning and handed over the baton to Kim Won-joong. The ninth inning came in a one-run lead as the batters repeatedly failed to score additional points. Kim Won-joong's time, who had no chance to take the mound due to the team's consecutive losses in the opening series against LG on the weekend, has finally come.

Kim had to deal with the opponent team's central lineup. Park Sung-han, the first batter, caught the ball to the center field and pocketed an out count. However, he couldn't overcome Guillermo Herredia, the second batter and hit two home runs against him last year. Kim, who caught the strike with a foul on the first pitch, threw three consecutive balls. Finally, a fastball of 148 kilometers per hour went into the center to catch the count at 3B-1S was perfect in the middle.

There was no way Herredia would miss this in the batter's heating count. He hit a fastball that came in too honestly and connected it with a dramatic tie solo home run over the fence in the middle. It was the moment when Lotte's lead disappeared, and it was the moment when Kim Won-joong's first blon save of the season went up.

Kim Won-joong regained his composure and struck out Oh Tae-gon and fouled Lee Ji-young to the first baseman to end the inning. However, his blon save was not erased. Now, he has no choice but to think about the Incheon jinx. However, Lotte won 3-2 thanks to Son Ho-young's timely hit in the 11th inning to ease the burden on its mind.

With both Jung Cheol-won and Kim Won-joong already utilized, Lotte's extra mound management was complicated. However, Park Joon-woo's good defense in the 10th inning gave a hope, and Park Jin-young, who took the mound in the 11th inning with no outs and no outs, ended the game without losing a point, earning a save. Lotte's first win of the season came to an end. Lotte will also play in Incheon on May 26 and 27. Attention is focusing on whether Kim Won-joong will have a chance to shake off his jinx and ease the burden.