Kiwoom Heroes’ Lee Jung-hoo started at third base against SSG Landers in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Thursday, going 3-for-4 with a double, home run, one RBI, and one run scored. Thanks to Lee’s performance, Kiwoom won 4-3 and snapped a nine-game losing streak against SSG dating back to last season.
In a postgame interview, Lee said, “I can’t help but be conscious of our losing streak against SSG. If I think back to last year’s Korean Series, I think we lost about 10 games in a row. From yesterday, everyone was determined to give it a shot in Blue Dragon mode. I thought we would win at some point, and today we took the pressure off and took it easy, which led to a good result,” he said after the win.
Lee Jung-hoo, who hit the tying solo home run in the eighth inning, said, “I was the leadoff hitter, so I tried to get on base first. Actually, 안전놀이터 before I hit the home run, a wild pitch came in and I couldn’t get the bat out. I thought the next pitch was going to be a changeup, so I thought it was going to be a fastball, but it was a fastball, so I think it was a home run,” he said of his home run.
After a slow start to the season, Lee has hit safely in his last eight games. “I feel like I’ve gotten my groove back,” Lee said, “I think I’ve been having some psychological issues. I don’t think it’s a matter of changing the batting form. I did well in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). However, I think there was some psychological pressure because I didn’t perform well in early April,” said Lee.
“Now, I’m hitting pitches that make sense even if they’re outs,” Lee said. “I think it was in May against the NC, and I started hitting good pitches even if they were outs. From then on, I thought, ‘It’s here. I felt it. I thought I just needed to find the feeling at some point, and now I feel like I’m back,” he said, expressing confidence in his performance for the rest of the season.
