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NC, which won two games on SSG's home turf and went down to Changwon in a good mood, can win a ticket to Suwon, where the kt Wiz is waiting, if it wins only one of the remaining 3rd, 4th and 5th games. NC is scheduled to start Game 3 on the 25th with left-hander foreign pitcher Tanner Tully.

NC's starter Song Myung-ki was sluggish with two hits, four outs, four strikeouts and two runs in three innings, but five bullpen pitchers who took the mound from the fourth inning blocked six innings with one run to keep the victory. In the batting line, Jason Martin, who hit a timely double in the first inning, became the hero of the winning hit, Park Kun-woo hit three hits and two RBIs, and Kim Hyung-joon hit a solo home run in the eighth inning, showing off a good batting sense. And the player who is quietly shining in NC's fall baseball this year is left-hander Kim Young-kyu, who has taken the mound in all three autumn baseball games played by NC and has two wins and one hold.

pitchers who found their aptitude in the bullpen after starting

While there are pitchers who spend their entire careers as starters, such as "great pitcher" Yang Hyun-jong (KIA Tigers), there are pitchers who play as finishes from the rookie season to the age of infallibility, such as "finisher" Oh Seung-hwan (Samsung Lions). However, many players often wander because they cannot find the right position for them for as long as one or two years after joining the professional league. And among the players who played as starting pitchers in the early days of their careers, they turn into bullpen pitchers and find their "aptitude" late.

The representative player is KT Wiz's sovereignty, which shines as the hold king in 2020. Joo Kwon, who drew attention as a starting prospect by winning his first start in 2016 with a shutout, went back and forth between the starter and the bullpen until 2018, but failed to explode his potential with 14 wins and 23 losses in three years. However, Joo Kwon, who has turned into a professional bullpen pitcher since 2019, became the hold king with 31 holds in 2020 following 25 holds in 2019. Although this year was somewhat sluggish, the 110-hold sovereignty has already grown into a bullpen pitcher representing the KBO League.

Lim Ki-young, a sidearm who started his professional career with the Hanwha Eagles in 2012 and wore a KIA uniform as a reward player for the FA Song Eun-beom (LG Twins) in December 2014, also played mainly as a starting pitcher until 2022. However, Lim Ki-young, who has rarely broken the eggs since his eight wins in 2017 and nine wins in 2020, turned into a bullpen pitcher this year and had his best season. Lim Ki-young, who played 82 innings in 64 games this year, played as a troika for Choi Ji-min, Jeon Sang-hyun and KIA bullpen with 4 wins, 4 losses, 3 saves and a 2.96 ERA.

Kim Won-joong, who has been guarding the back door of the Lotte Giants since 2020, also played as a built-in starter for three years from 2017 to 2019. However, during his three years as a starter, Kim Won-joong failed to meet expectations with an ERA well above the mid-5 mark, and took the finishing position vacated by the retirement of Son Seung-rak (KIA second-tier coach) in 2020. Kim Won-joong, who has garnered 107 saves in the last four years as a closer, recorded a two-point ERA (2.97) for the first time since his debut this year.

In the second half of this season, he gave up the finishing spot to Jung Chul-won, but Hong Kun-hee of the Doosan Bears is also one of the pitchers who successfully turned into a bullpen pitcher. Hong Kun-hee, who joined KIA in 2011, has started 33 times and won only four games during his nine years with KIA. However, after transferring to Doosan, Hong Kun-hee transformed into a professional bullpen pitcher and played a key role in Doosan's bullpen, recording 12 wins, 44 saves and 39 holds over three and a half years.

3.1 innings in three autumn baseball games without allowing no runs

Kim Young-kyu, who graduated from Gwangju Jeil High School and was selected by NC in the second 8th round (79th overall) in the 2018 rookie draft, was far from a player who received great attention nationwide, as the nomination rankings suggest. However, NC highly evaluated Kim Young-kyu's potential with good hardware (188 cm and 86 kg) and stable pitching form. And Kim Young-kyu showed endless possibilities by winning a shutout with eight strikeouts in nine innings against LG on September 27, 2019.

However, Kim Young-kyu, who was expected to grow into NC's left-hander one-two punch with Koo Chang-mo, won only two wins in 20 games in 2020, when NC won the Korean Series. In 2021, when he moved between the starter and the bullpen, he failed to show a remarkable growth rate with 5 wins, 3 losses, 6 holds, 5.37. However, Kim Young-kyu found his potential as a bullpen pitcher by taking the mound in 72 games in the 2022 season, when he played as a professional bullpen pitcher, and posting excellent performances with two wins, seven losses and one save and 13 holds of 3.41.

Kim Young-kyu, whose annual salary was raised to 140 million won ahead of this season, took the mound in 63 regular league games and tied for third place in the hold with two wins, four losses and 24 holds 3.06, playing as a left-right one-two punch for NC Bullpen along with right-hander Ryu Jin-wook of 22 holds. In particular, among left-handed pitchers, he ranked first in the unrivaled hold, far ahead of Kim Jae-woong (Kium Heroes, 18 Holds). Kim Young-kyu was also selected for the national team at the last Hangzhou Asian Games and won a gold medal, receiving military service benefits.

Kim Young-kyu's performance continues in autumn baseball. Kim Young-kyu, who took the mound as the third pitcher in the wild card game against Doosan on the 19th and won one inning without losing a point in the first round of the semi-playoff on the 22nd, saved starter Shin Min-hyuk and won two consecutive games with a perfect 1.1-inning pitch. And in the second game held on the 23rd, he took his first hold in fall baseball with one hit, one walk and no run in one inning, accumulating two wins and one hold in three postseason games this year played by NC.