With his bullpen considerably weaker than the team's title run from a year ago, LG Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb said Saturday he will need his starters to munch up innings. In ending a 29-year title drought in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in 2023, the Twins leaned heavily on their bullpen. But gone is the closer from that season, Go Woo-suk, who signed with the San Diego Padres in January.
Setup man Jung Woo-young just had his worst regular season of his career, and not many relievers pitched their way into Youm's circle of trust. "Last year, we had seven middle relievers, and that allowed us to respond to any type of situation. That's not the case this year," Youm told reporters before the Twins hosted the KT Wiz at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul to begin the first round of the postseason Saturday.
"Obviously, you need your starters to pitch well in postseason, but that's even more of the case for us this year. We can't afford to pull starters after the second or third innings this year. Unless they really struggle, we'll have to keep them on for as long as we can.
" The Twins will be without new closer You Young-chan, whose father passed away earlier in the week. Starter Elieser Hernandez will be ready to close the game should the Twins have the late lead, Youm said. "We won't ask him to go more than two innings," Youm added.
The Twins ranked second with 808 runs scored in the regular season and Youm will look to his lineup to do some heavy lifting again. The Tw.
