Full of confidence. KT Wiz relief pitcher Son Dong-hyun is pitching a perfect game in his first postseason.
Son Dong-hyun took the mound as the team’s second pitcher in the bottom of the seventh inning with a 3-0 lead in the best-of-five playoff series against the NC Dinos in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Postseason at NC Dinos Park in Changwon on April 2.
From the first batter he faced, it wasn’t easy. Jason Martin, the opposing No. 4 hitter, stepped up to the plate. Son Dong-hyun threw a hard fastball, and a diving catch by captain Park Kyung-soo sent him back to the dugout. He then struck out Kwon Hee-dong (grounder to third base) and Oh Young-soo (fly ball to left field) to end the inning with a triple play. The final score was one scoreless inning. The team held on for a 3-0 victory and their first postseason hold.
After the game, Son Dong-hyun said, “I wasn’t worried about the pressure because the team was ahead… I was worried about the team losing one more game and being eliminated because of me. But when I got on the mound with my arm free, I didn’t think about that.”
Today, Son is full of confidence, as he has pitched four scoreless innings in all three games of the postseason. He utilizes a fastball that tops out in the mid-to-high 140s, a curveball, and a forkball to keep batters off balance. It’s his first fall season, so he might be nervous, but his confident and assertive pitching has energized the bullpen.
“Before the first game, I was really nervous. Even though we were losing 1-8, I couldn’t hear what the coach was saying in the bullpen, but since the results of the first two games were good, I think that gave me confidence and I pitched well,” he explained.
“I’m feeling really good right now, so I don’t think I’m going to get any hits, so I’m feeling really confident, so I’m not worried. I don’t know if my fastball is getting faster, but I feel like once the ball comes alive, it comes alive twice. There are a lot of spectators and the adrenaline is pumping, so I think I’m going to throw a good ball.” 보스토토
This year, KT showed off the power of its ironclad bullpen with Son Dong-hyun (7th), Park Young-hyun (8th), and Kim Jae-yoon (9th). With two games in hand, KT needs to win all of its remaining games to advance to the Korean Series. And in that process, closer Son Dong-hyun will play an important role.
“We changed the atmosphere (by winning Game 3). I think our team is unstoppable once we get going. It was the same when we were on a winning streak in the middle of the season. I want to finish the season as late as possible with this momentum,” he smiled.