"El Dong-won" Eliaser Hernandez led the LG Twins to the playoffs with two saves and two strong throws in five games, the most ever in the semi-playoff history.토토사이트

Who else is such a foreign player? Despite playing in four consecutive games, foreigners who claimed to take the mound by shouting "one more inning" finally secured LG's advance to the playoffs by taking the mound in consecutive games.

The LG Twins, led by manager Yeom Kyung-yeop, won the game 4-1 against the KT Wiz at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on Wednesday by banking on pitchers` all-out pitching and Austin Dean`s hard hitting in Game 5 of the 2024 KBO postseason semi-playoff. With the three wins and two losses overall in the series, LG has successfully advanced to the playoffs, where the second-ranked Samsung Lions are waiting.

The MVP of the semi-PO series was won by starting pitcher Lim Chan-kyu, who pitched 11.1 innings in two games with two wins and a 1.59 ERA. It is a natural result because Lim Chan-kyu led the team to the playoffs by becoming a winning pitcher in the second round of the semi-PO and the fifth round of the semi-PO, which were LG's destination.

However, just like Lim Chan-gyu, there is a hero of fighting spirit in the semi-PO series of LG. One of them is Hernandez, a foreign pitcher who joined during the season.

Hernandez pitched in all five semi-playoff games, posting two saves and one hold with zero earned run average. He gave up just five hits and three walks in 7.1 innings, while striking out 10 times.

In addition to LG's bullpen anxiety, Hernandez took on the role of closing pitcher amid the sadness of closer Yoo Young-chan's father injury ahead of the series. Beyond the role of a typical closing pitcher, he played multiple innings in each game, so the number of games and innings was considerable.

In fact, Hernandez set a tie for the most appearances in semi-PO (single season) with Won Jong-hyun (then NC, now Kiwoom) and others with five games. Considering that Won Jong-hyun's last five semi-PO games was seven years ago in 2017, it was a record of fighting spirit that is even harder to find in baseball recently.

His performance in the game was also overwhelming. Hernandez threw 27 pitches during two innings in the first game on Saturday. In the second game held the next day, Hernandez threw 38 pitches during 1.2 innings, recording one hit and two walks with two strikeouts.

Hernandez then took a day off and pitched again in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 3 on the 8th, when closer Yoo Young-chan allowed a two-run home run, making 0.2 scoreless saves to tie the game.

He also showed off his fighting spirit in the fourth round of the semi-PO. When LG tied the game at 5-5 in the top of the eighth inning, Hernandez took the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning. Hernandez allowed three hits, four strikeouts and no run in the eighth and ninth innings, leading LG to overtime play. However, as LG allowed Shim Woo-joon to have a finishing hit in the bottom of the 11th inning, the team was defeated unfortunately.

However, Hernandez also volunteered to pitch extra innings in the fourth round of the semi-PO. "I always have positive thoughts about Hernandez," manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said in the meeting ahead of the fifth round of the semi-PO. In the fourth round, he said, "I will keep throwing if I score in the top of the 10th after finishing the bottom of the ninth inning. I think those feelings are really important, and I am touched by them."

Hernandez's fighting spirit that he wants to keep pitching past two innings even after four consecutive games at the same time as two consecutive days of pitching was not realized on the day. However, after taking a day off, Hernandez also took the mound in the fifth round of the semi-PO on Sunday and displayed his sincerity by playing every game.

Hernandez took the mound in the top of the ninth inning with LG leading by 4-1 and three runs in the fourth round of the semi-PO on Wednesday, and allowed one walk during one inning, but ended the game by striking out one. He has finally made a decision to let LG advance to the playoffs.

After the game, Yeom repeatedly thanked Hernández, saying, "The MVP of my heart is Elijah Hernández. That's how Hernández (who volunteered to take the mound) felt. This is why he played harder. He showed dedication and created the team atmosphere."

Hernandez has also been nicknamed "El Dong-won." His nickname is that of the late Choi Dong-won, a legendary pitcher who led the Lotte Giants to the Korean Series title through a series of matches through unbelievable fighting spirit.

And Hernandez said in an interview with a veteran player after the game, "I feel the best because my team won. If you go through such a situation, you have to make sacrifices while helping your teammates. So he sacrificed himself. I'm satisfied that it led to a good result," adding that he will play the final game of the first playoff, saying, "I have to win. I will go out."