LG’s Ham Deok-ju pitched a four-hit shutout. When closer Ko Woo-seok returned, Ham Deok-ju was injured. LG’s mound completeness was lost again.
Ham Deok-ju took the mound against the NC Dinos of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Thursday.
With runners on first and third in the third inning, Ham gave up a single to left to Martin, the first batter he faced, and then got Kwon Hee-dong to fly out to end the inning.
Ham came on to pitch the fourth inning. After striking out the leadoff batter, Park Seok-min, he gave up a single to right to Park Se-hyuk. He then struck out Kim Joo-won.
Here was the problem. His elbow seemed to be giving him trouble. After throwing five pitches to Kim, he realized something was wrong. He couldn’t throw any more pitches. The umpire came up, checked him out, and signed to the LG bench. The trainer came over to check on him, and he was eventually removed from the mound.
The next pitcher, Park Myung-geun, took over the mound.
An LG official said, “Ham Deok-ju was replaced for player protection due to elbow discomfort. He is currently undergoing icing treatment.”
Ham has already struggled with injuries. In 2021, he underwent surgery for an elbow injury, and last year he was sidelined with gout. In total, he missed two full seasons.
But now he’s back and he’s over it. The pain was gone. In April, he went 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA in 15 games, 13 innings pitched, and four holds.먹튀검증
From May onward, he firmly supported the back of the LG mound as the closer. On May 2, he recorded his first save in 1020 days against the Changwon NC. Manager Yoon Kyung-yeop was relieved that Ham Deok-ju was available even when relievers Ko Woo-seok and Lee Seung-yong were out. He even praised him.
However, on the day Go Woo-seok returned, Ham Deok-ju was injured. LG can only hope it’s a minor injury. In many ways, it’s a tough season for the LG mound to be complete.