With Samsung taking the first two games against LG in the Korean Baseball Playoffs to take a commanding lead, the fateful Game 3 will be played at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in a few minutes.
Today (Nov. 17), Samsung's Hwang Dong-jae and LG's Lim Chan-kyu are the starting pitchers for Game 3. Hwang has split time between starting and relieving this season, going 1-2 with a 4.07 ERA, while Lim has a 3.83 ERA in 10 games with 6 wins.
LG has the edge in terms of starting pitching, but it will be important to see if they can stem the tide of Samsung's two-game winning streak.
Lim Chan-kyu has been in top form in the semifinals, going 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in two games. After using up a lot of pitchers in Games 1 and 2, the ideal scenario for LG would be for Lim to go as many innings as possible.
However, LG doesn't have that luxury anymore. If Lim shows even the slightest hint of shakiness early in the game, it's hard to afford to take him for granted.
In the end, the timing of the starting pitching change is crucial for LG. Manager Yoon Kyung-yup revealed that he will use Hernandez, 토토사이트 who has been a bullpen ace in the Fall League, as the second pitcher in Game 3.
Since Hernandez was rested in Game 2, if Lim Chan-kyu falters early in the game, he could quickly bring in Hernandez to pitch long innings. With one more loss and the end of fall baseball, the team will not limit Hernandez's pitch count.
For Samsung, the timing of starting pitcher rotations is also key. Hwang Dong-jae is an inexperienced pitcher, so it's hard to expect him to play the same role as Reyes and Won Tae-in, who were the starters in the first and second games.
In addition, Samsung has more flexibility than LG in utilizing its bullpen, as the starters in Game 1 and Game 2 threw long innings. Samsung's best-case scenario is to finish the playoffs with three wins, so it's likely that they'll utilize their bullpen early on.
Manager Park Jin-man said that if Hwang Dong-jae can keep them in the game until the fourth inning, he will use his bullpen to secure the win. Of course, if Hwang falters early in the game, that time could come sooner.
With the two teams in opposite situations, it will be interesting to see when the managers decide to change their starting pitchers in Game 3.