LG’s Chan-kyu Lim ‘took 4 days off’, wins 8th game of the season with shoulder-dancing gesture
LG Twins pitcher Im Chan-kyu (31) picked up his eighth win of the season.
Im Chan-kyu started against the Samsung Lions of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, South Korea, on June 6 and pitched five innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts to lead his team to a 7-4 victory. With his eighth win of the season (2-2), he is on pace to reach the 10-win plateau.
Lim Chan-kyu led the way for LG in August, pitching well against the Jamsil Kiwoom Heroes on Aug. 1. He pitched 5.2 innings with five strikeouts and two earned runs to lead his team to a 4-2 victory. LG then swept a three-game series against Kiwoom and Jamsil, extending its winning streak to seven games.
However, LG suffered an unexpected blow against Daegu. They quickly fell into a four-game losing streak against the bottom-ranked Samsung. Against this backdrop, Im Chan-kyu started again. 메이저놀이터
As he was pitching after four days of rest, he was clearly not 100%. After being hit by a solo shot to left field by Samsung’s Lee Jae-hyun in the second inning, Im faced a no-hitter in the third inning with a walk and back-to-back singles. However, he did not allow any more runs to score thanks to his crisis management skills. He struck out Kang Min-ho on a line drive to second base and Kim Tae-hoon and Kang Kang-ul on consecutive pitches to get out of the jam. With momentum on his side, Lim Chan-kyu struck out Samsung’s bottom of the fourth inning for his first triple play of the day.
The final threat came in the fifth inning. Im faced pinch-hitter Kim Ho-jae with runners on second and third after Kim Sung-yoon singled up the middle and Kang Min-ho walked. In the top of the fifth, the team scored two runs to take a 3-1 lead. He only needed to get through the bottom of the fifth to earn the win. Im Chan-kyu got Kim Ho-jae to ground out with a changeup on a 2B-2S pitch, ending the inning with a strikeout. After getting the final out of the inning, he roared loudly and expressed his joy with his entire body, including his shoulders.
In the sixth inning, the bullpen took over. Lim had thrown 101 pitches through five innings, with his fastball topping out at 145 kilometers per hour. He mixed in a changeup, curveball, and slider.
This is the second time this season that Lim has earned a win in two starts in a week. He previously picked up wins on May 23 against the Incheon SSG Landers (six innings, one run) and on May 28 against the Gwangju KIA Tigers (seven innings, no runs).