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"He's a grateful player."
Choi Won-ho never fails to say thank you when talking about veteran right-hander Lee Tae-yang, 33. The reliever started the season pitching in all weathers, rallying from behind to seal the win. Long relievers have been responsible for long innings when starters go down early.
His role changed as the team reshuffled its starting rotation, losing starters to injury and poor performance. Even after switching to the starting role, he still fulfills his assigned role. Lee is the centerpiece of Hanwha's starting rotation without Moon Dong-ju. He is a regular starter alongside foreign pitchers Felix Peña and Ricardo Sanchez.
On the 18th, Hanwha played against KT Wiz at Daejeon Baseball Stadium. After dropping two games of a doubleheader the day before (Nov. 17), Hanwha fell into a four-game losing streak. A six-game winning streak came to a screeching halt. With the team desperate to end the losing streak, Lee Tae-yang stepped up. He pitched five innings of three-hit ball and gave up two runs to earn his third win of the season. Hanwha came from behind to win 6-2 and end the losing streak.
After retiring KT's first three batters in the top of the first inning, Lee gave up an early lead in the second.
The leadoff hitter, No. 4 Anthony Alford, hit a triple to right-center field. It was a big hit that hit the fence. After retiring the next two batters, he gave up a single to left to No. 6 Bae Jae-dae.
After that, he settled down. He struck out three straight batters in the third and fourth innings. In the top of the fifth inning, he struggled with 바카라 his pitches. He gave up back-to-back singles to Shin Bong-ki. Kim Sang-soo singled to put runners on first and second.
He was hit by a pitch. With runners on second and third, he got Kim Min-hyuk to fly out to center field to end the inning.
Lee turned to the bullpen in the sixth inning with a 5-2 lead. Joo Hyun-sang, Lee Min-woo, Jang Si-hwan, and Park Sang-won took over and pitched four scoreless innings.
Lee was pulled early after giving up three runs in two innings against the Doosan Bears on April 12. Manager Choi Won-ho said, "The ball didn't go well. The opposing batters kept hitting hard," Choi said. After six days off, Lee remained focused until the end.