Twins manager praises work of rookie starter in up-and-down 1st half

LG Twins starter Song Seung-ki may not win the MVP award in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) this year but in the heart of his manager Youm Kyoung-youb, the rookie left-hander has been as valuable as they come. "He has exceeded our expectations. He's a big reason why we are where we are in the standings," Youm told reporters Thursday before hosting the Kiwoom Heroes in their last game before the All-Star break at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. Song, who will start Thursday, has an 8-5 record with a 3.25 ERA in 16 starts. Song made his KBO debut in 2022 and also pitched briefly in 2023, but is still eligible for the Rookie of the Year award this year because he only accumulated 9 1/3 innings in those two seasons combined. Song, 23, is tied for the team lead in wins with veteran starter Im Chan-kyu and ranks second behind Im in ERA. Youm noted that the two homegrown starters' strong performances have compensated for inconsistency from the team's two foreign pitchers, Yonny Chirinos and Elieser Hernandez. The Twins went into Thursday's game in second place with a 48-37-2 record (winsWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times