“The game that will be remembered after the Korean Series…” ‘From the brink of ejection to the perfect doorstep…’
From the brink of exile to the perfect doorstep. The reason why Bong-seung Kelly shed tears during his 1-hit, 4-strikeout complete game [Jamsil interview].
The ‘Jamsil Jesus’ has been resurrected. He threw the first perfect game in KBO history. Despite being hit by a pitch in the top of the ninth inning, he pitched a one-hit, four-strikeout complete game. His second career complete game in his sixth year came at the most important moment.
LG Twins foreign pitcher Casey Kelly started the home game against Samsung in Jamsil on Sept. 25, allowing just one hit over nine innings, striking out four and walking none in a 4-0 shutout. It was his second shutout of the season, joining Aaron Wilkerson of the Lotte Giants.
Recorded his second complete game in more than three years and eight months after throwing his first complete game on Oct. 9, 2020, against the NC Dinos in Jamsil with nine innings of two-hit, one-walk, three-strikeout ball. The score was 4-0, the same as this time. Yoo Kang-nam hit a three-run shot in the second inning.
Kelly hasn’t been good against Samsung this season. In three games, she has two losses and a 6.86 ERA. On March 26, he had a quality start in Jamsil, allowing three runs on seven hits in six innings with one walk and six strikeouts, but on April 24, he gave up six runs on 10 hits (two home runs) with two walks and two strikeouts in 5⅔ innings in Daegu, and on June 13, he pitched all eight innings in Daegu, but gave up six runs on eight hits (three home runs) with one walk and five strikeouts in the loss.
Kelly has struggled this year, but has been good in Jamsil. In eight appearances, he is 2-2 with a 2.94 ERA. And against Samsung in Jamsil, he was the ‘Jamsil Jesus’.
He had a perfect game until the sixth inning. After getting Kim Ji-chan to fly out to center, Lee Jae-hyun to strike out, and Koo Ja-uk to fly out to foul territory in left field to start the inning, Kelly quickly made short work of the Samsung bats. She retired all five batters she faced on 58 pitches. Kelly, who often struggles in the sixth inning, struck out Jung-bin Yoon and Min-ho Kang in the top of the sixth on just eight pitches. There were no walks and no errors, and none of the Samsung batters reached base. In the seventh inning, the LG crowd on the first base side started cheering louder for the defense than the offense. They started to cheer in recognition of Kelly’s perfect game.
In the top of the seventh inning, Kim Ji-chan led off with a single. A ground ball traveling down the first base line was hit to Austin, who stepped on first base to catch it, but the ball hit the mitt and fell to the side. The first-base umpire called fair, and we wondered what would happen at first base, but Austin dived and touched first base with the ball. However, the umpire called it a foul, and it was overturned. LG manager Yeom Kyung-yup requested a video review, and the call was an out. Lee Jae-hyun then flied 메이저토토사이트 out to center field for the second out. Koo Jae-rook’s pitch was deflected and looked like it would be a lucky hit over the shortstop. However, shortstop Koo Bon-hyuk raced back to make the catch and the perfect game continued into the seventh inning.
In the top of the eighth inning, a two-pitch changeup to Yoon Jung-bin, the leadoff hitter, became a double. Catcher Park Dong-won and pitching coach Kim Kyung-tae immediately came over to calm him down, and Kelly got Kang Min-ho to ground out to third base and pinch-hitter Kim Heon-gon to fly out to right field to end the game.
Every pitcher dreams of a perfect game. Kelly said he tried to make the same pitch when he came up in the top of the ninth. “I think I was just trying to focus on each pitch and each moment and not think about anything else,” Kelly said, “because sometimes you try to do something extra and it doesn’t work out. Today’s match was very simple and fast-paced, so I tried to keep that feeling as much as possible.”
The pitch that hit Jung-Bin Yoon was a changeup. “The changeup was low and outside, and he hit it. It was a good pitch, but he hit it, so it was one of those things that can happen in a game,” Kelly said. “It helped that Park Dong-won came up after the hit and told me that it was still a good pitch and to stay focused on the game so I could finish the game.”
After the hit, he took off his hat to greet the fans at 메이저 토토사이트 first base. “It was a way to thank the fans for their support,” Kelly explained. “I also did it to the guy who hit the ball,” he laughed.
Kelly broke down in tears during the televised interview. “In the eighth and ninth innings, the fans were so supportive, and I felt that energy, and I was so touched by it, that I got teary-eyed,” he said with an embarrassed smile.
On the day, Kelly dominated the Tribe with his fastball, which topped out at 149 mph, and his arsenal of pitches, including a curveball, changeup, slider, forkball, and sinker. “At the beginning of the season, I was frustrated because my velocity wasn’t coming up. I did a lot of drills to figure it out. “It’s encouraging to see my velocity come back up and I feel like I can get back to being the fastball pitcher I used to be,” Kelly said, adding that the warmer weather has helped.
Missing out on the perfect game was a disappointment. “I think today will go down as a very special game. “As a pitcher, you don’t get a lot of opportunities like this,” he said. “I think the Korean Series is probably the most memorable game of my life, but I think today is probably a close second.