Jaehak Lee shutout win in 8 years… NC tied for 6th in fall baseball ‘Knock’

Professional baseball NC sidearm pitcher Jae-hak Lee (31) showed off the ‘Strongberry’ mode and kept the team from advancing to ‘Autumn Baseball’.

NC defeated home team Doosan 5-0 in the KBO League match held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 15th. Lee Jae-hak, who started as a starting pitcher against his former team Doosan, scored a shutout victory while conceding only one hit and three four-and-a-half pitches (one walk and two balls that fit his body) in nine innings. This is the second time Jaehak Lee has won a shutout since his professional debut, and it has been 2998 days since his literary visit against SK (now SSG) on August 31, 2013.

2013 was also the first season Lee Jae-hak recorded 10 wins (5 losses) since his professional debut. After graduating from Daegu High School, Lee Jae-hak, who was selected by Doosan with the 10th overall pick in the 2010 Rookie Draft, was nicknamed ‘Strawberry’ because of his red cheeks and acne. After joining the team for two years, he mainly stayed in the Futures League (2nd team), but after moving to NC through the 2nd draft, he was reborn as a ‘native ace’. At the same time, the nickname was upgraded to ‘Strongberry’, which means strong strawberry.

NC coach Lee Dong-wook commented, “Like Jae-hak Lee’s first shutout victory in 2013, he showed excellent pitching based on his fast-ball control and quick-control ability.” With this win, NC returned to a 50% win rate (61 wins, 7 draws and 61 losses) and raised the ranking to joint 6th with SSG (60 wins, 12 draws and 60 losses). Kiwoom, who holds 5th place in the fall baseball league, also won the home team Samsung 2-0 in Daegu on the same day in the rain cold game at the end of the 6th inning. Kiwoom starter Jeong Chan-heon (31), who scored 3 hits and no runs in 6 innings, also had a lucky shutout. Kiwoom Lee Jung-hoo hit a double in the left middle in the first inning of the day, hitting 150 hits for five years in a row. On this day, at 23 years, 1 month and 25 days, Lee Jung-hoo advanced nearly six years from the youngest record (29 years, 11 months, 8 days) recorded by NC Na Seong-beom (32) in 2018. Lotte defeated LG 4-2 in the Sajik home game and escaped from three consecutive losses, rekindling the spark of fall baseball. Leader KT drew 7-7 with 9th place KIA in Suwon.

▽ 15 days record

NC 5-0 Doosan

LG 2-4 Lotte

Kiwoom 2-0 Samsung

＜6 rains cold＞

K I A 7-7 K T

Reporter Hwang Gyu-in kini@donga.com Go to reporter page>