Pitcher saves Twins’ season again with scoreless gem

For the second time in six days, right-handed pitcher Im Chan-kyu saved the LG Twins’ season.

With his team facing elimination from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason, Im tossed 5 1/3 shutout innings for the Twins’ 1-0 win over the Samsung Lions on Thursday at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul.

After dropping the first two games of this best-of-five series, the Twins, the defending Korean Series champions, forced Game 4 back at Jamsil on Friday.

It was last Friday at Jamsil that Im started Game 5 of the previous series, also a best-of-five affair, against the KT Wiz. The Twins had a 2-1 series lead before losing Game 4 by 6-5 in extra innings, and a loss in the fifth game would have ended their season and thus their bid for a second straight title.

Im went out and threw six innings of one-run ball, giving up only three hits and striking out four.

Earlier in that series, Im had won Game 2 after holding the Wiz to one earned run in 5 1/3 innings. That was a crucial victory after the Twins had dropped the opener at home.

Then came Thursday, another win-or-go-home game for Im. And the 31-year-old rose to the occasion once again as he limited the Lions to just three hits in 5 1/3 innings.

The Lions had nothing going against Im through the first three innings, but Im did dodge a bullet in the top of the second when Lewin Diaz sent a huge fly ball into the right-field stands that hooked just foul. Diaz ended up grounding out back to Im.

In the fourth inning, Im gave up two singles but struck out Kang Min-ho to pitch himself out of that jam.

In that inning, Diaz hit another foul ball that tailed just wide of the pole once again. It was close enough that the Lions challenged the initial foul call, but the replays clearly showed Diaz had missed a home run.

The Twins finally staked him to a 1-0 lead in the bottom fifth, courtesy of Hong Chang-ki’s sacrifice fly, and Im came back out for the top sixth to retire the first batter before handing the reins to Elieser Hernandez.

Im said he was not as nervous as he had been in last week’s Game 5 against the Wiz.

“I felt pretty relaxed. I was just thinking about making my pitches,” Im said. “I got a ton of help from defense, and I was pretty fortunate.”

Im had not recorded a win as a starter in his six previous postseason outings before this year. He has now gone a perfect 3-0 in three postseason starts this month alone and said there’s really no secret to his sudden success.

“I don’t think I’ve made any dramatic improvement,” he said. “I guess the fact that I’ve been able to stay composed means I have grown up a bit. I’ve been trying not to get caught up in the moment, and just focus on each and every pitch.”

After Im, Hernandez covered the final 3 2/3 innings of this combined shutout for a rare, 11-out save.

He also found himself in some trouble. With two outs in the seventh, Kim Young-woong hit a triple to right field, with right fielder Hong Chang-ki unable to keep a sinking liner in front of him. But Hernandez got Lee Jae-hyeon to fly out to shallow center field.

Hernandez allowed a single and a walk in the eighth, before getting Diaz to ground into a fielder’s choice.

The Venezuelan right-hander, pitching on five days’ rest, put an exclamation point to his night by striking out the side in the ninth, touching 151 kilometers per hour with his final fastball.

Hernadnez pitched all five games of the previous series and struck out 10 in 7 1/3 shutout innings. Then he struck out five more Thursday night as his postseason legacy grew.

“When you think like a winner, you’re going to do the best,” Hernandez said. “That’s basically what I do every time I have the ball.”

Hernandez said he could have gone thrown more if the game had gone into extra innings, given the magnitude of the game.

Hernandez tossed 60 pitches Thursday, which will rule him out for Friday’s Game 4. However, rain is in the forecast in Seoul for Friday evening, which may push the game to Saturday afternoon. Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb said he will turn to Hernandez in Game 4 if it’s moved to Saturday.

Hernandez himself wasn’t so sure if he could handle that assignment.

“I feel pretty good now, but I don’t know how my body will respond tomorrow,” he said. “I’ve been throwing a lot. Mentally, I feel pretty good, but we’ll see if I can be available (on Saturday).”

As for sacrificing himself throughout the postseason grind, Hernandez said: “I love all the players, staff and fans. And you’ve got to love this game.”