Noh Kyung-eun (41), who pitched in the most 77 games in the league last season, is taking a rest this season as well. He pitched in all four games that SSG played until the game against Lotte Giants on Saturday.

He took the mound in the ninth inning against the Lotte Giants in Incheon on Sunday. Closer Cho Byung-hyun pitched 1.1 extra innings on the previous day. "Cho will give us a good rest today," SSG coach Lee Soo-yong said even before the game. If there is a save situation, Noh Kyung-eun was scheduled to take the mound.

Noh Kyung-eun blocked Lotte's last attack with three outs. He handled leadoff hitter Son Ho-young with a fly ball to shortstop after a game of nine pitches, and subsequent Victor Reyes grounded out to first base after four pitches. Choi Hang, who followed, induced a fly ball to the second base with a slider at the fourth pitch to end the game. The team secured a 3-1 victory, and Noh made his 11th professional save in 703 days after the game against Kiwoom on April 23, 2023.메이저사이트

After the game, Noh said, "I can throw tomorrow as well. If I feel tired, I can throw knuckle balls." He is half joking, but his colorful pitches are one of Noh's powerful weapons. On the day, Noh threw a 105-km knuckle ball at the second pitch against Reyes. It was his first knuckle ball of the season.

Noh Kyung-eun recorded 38 holds last season, becoming the oldest hold king in the history of the Korean pro baseball. Many are at stake this year as well. If he surpasses 30 holds this season, he will set a record of 30 holds or higher for the first three consecutive seasons in the KBO league. He has just one strikeout left until his career's 1,000th. He garnered two strikeouts for the first time in the opening game, and added another strikeout the next day to reach 999. However, he failed to strike out in two consecutive games until Sunday.

Noh said, "Now I've really got strikeouts out of my head. To be honest, after getting two strikes from Jeon yesterday (25th), I thought of strikeouts, but I couldn't make it anymore." At the time, Noh took the mound in the seventh inning and secured a 0B-2S advantage against Lotte's Jeon, but he threw three balls in a row afterward, and finally got a hit.

Noh Kyung-eun has been guarding the mound in the second half of SSG without giving up a single run in 3.1 innings in four games until this day. The bullpen, which is held out by closer Cho Byung-hyun in the must-win group such as Noh Kyung-eun, Kim Min, and Lee Wan, is also the driving force behind SSG's good start in the early days of the season.

SSG beat Doosan 6-5 in the opening game, followed by Doosan 5-2 the next day, and lost 2-3 in overtime against Lotte on Saturday but beat the latter 3-1 on Sunday. Since the opening of the game, the team has had close matches in all four games, and the bullpen has been holding out. "We had a three-point gap or less in all four games, and bullpen pitchers have been a big help to us. Thank you so much."