He didn’t win his debut, but he made a strong impression. This is the story of LG’s second-year right-hander Lee Ji-gang.
Lee Ji-gang took the mound for Samsung Electronics in Daegu on April 4. After graduating from Sollae High School and entering the professional ranks last year, Lee had appeared on the mound 16 times before this game, taking three losses without a win. Her ERA is 4.79.
Lee effectively shut down Samsung’s bats in the second half of the game, when they were leading the team in batting average. He pitched 5⅔ innings, allowing two runs on four hits (one home run) with one walk and two strikeouts.
In the first inning, he retired Kim Hyun-joon, Ryu Ji-hyuk, and Koo Ja-rook on a double, a wild pitch, and an infield fly, respectively. In the second inning, Lee Ji-gang singled to left field to lead off the inning, but Kang Min-ho was able to get Kim Tae-hoon to pop out to first base. 안전놀이터
Two batters later in the inning, Kim Sung-yoon singled and stole second, putting runners on second and third, but Lee gave up a single up the middle to Kim Hyun-joon. He then got Ryu Ji-hyuk to fly out to shortstop to end the inning.
In the top of the fourth inning, Kang Min-ho hit a solo shot to left field. He then retired Kang Kang-ul and Kim Tae-hoon on infield singles. In the fifth, he struck out Oh Jae-il, Lee Jae-hyun, and Kim Sung-yoon.
In the sixth inning, Lee gave up a double to center field to leadoff hitter Kim Hyun-jun. Ryu Ji-hyuk and Koo Ja-rook were retired on an infield fly and a grounder to first base, respectively. With two on and one out, Kim turned the mound over to Kim Jin-sung. Kim struck out Kang Min-ho on a grounder to third to end the threat.
Kim gave up the tying run to Lee Jae-hyun with two outs in the seventh inning. Lee Ji-gang’s hopes of getting his first career win were dashed.
LG fell to Samsung 4-5, ending their winning streak at seven games. Lee Ji-gang’s performance was the only consolation in the loss.