“I felt good hitting it. I forgot about the disappointing scene earlier and thought, ‘Let’s not be late with the fastball,’ and I was lucky to hit it lightly.”
National slugger Kim Jae-hwan (Doosan Bears) returned to the 20-homer plateau for the first time in two years.
Kim hit the game-winning home run in the bottom of the sixth inning of a 3-3 tie against the Lotte Giants at Jamsil Stadium on Friday to lift the Bears to a 4-3 victory.
It was his second home run in as many games. The day before, he pushed it, and today, he pulled it perfectly. “I think it feels better to hit a home run in a winning game,” Kim smiled.
“I felt like I was late to the fastball, so I thought, ‘I’m not late. Finally, the ball I was thinking about came, and it led to a good result.”
For Kim Jae-hwan, it was a game that could have been a disappointment. Down 0-3 in the bottom of the third inning, Doosan scored one run on a ground ball by Yang Ji-hyun that got stuck in the glove of Lotte third baseman Son Ho-young and one run on an RBI single by Yang Seok-hwan to make it 2-3.
The next at-bat put runners on first and third.
Kim Jae-hwan hit a short fly ball to left field. Yang Ji-hyun tagged up and sprinted to third, but was thrown out at home.
“I thought it was a little short and I couldn’t get it in, but (Yang) Ji-hyeong was trying hard to score, so I was grateful from my point of view. I thought everyone was working really hard,” he reflected.
Doosan missed another chance in the bottom of the fifth inning when Yang singled with runners on first and second. But in the bottom of the sixth inning, leadoff hitter Kim Jae-hwan’s game-winning hit sealed the victory.
“As a center fielder, 토토사이트 if you don’t get a good result in such a situation, it can be a bit psychologically draining. It helped that I tried to forget the situation as soon as possible and go in with a lighter heart.”
In June, he suffered back-to-back bouts of intestinal infections two weeks apart and unintentionally lost about five kilograms. Since it’s summer, he hasn’t gained weight since. “I’m trying to eat well and sleep well,” Kim emphasized.
Yang Seok-hwan’s enthusiastic congratulations also caught our attention.
“I was feeling a little down, but as the captain, I think he was more excited to see me,” Kim laughed. “He’s doing so well,” he said of foreign batsman Jared. Thanks to him, our batting lineup is getting better and better,” he said.
For Kim Jae-hwan, it was his first two-game homer in 50 days since June 25-26. It’s his first 20-homer season in two years.
“I think it means I’m hitting well, and I’ll be more confident for the rest of the season. My goal is to play without injury until the end of the season. Two games behind Samsung? I can catch up quickly.”