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“I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

In a game that meant more than one win, Im Chan-kyu gave the LG Twins a victory. His characteristic ‘mouth’ was still there.

LG extended its winning streak to five games with a 9-1 victory in the fourth game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the SSG Landers at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Wednesday. SSG, whose winning streak was halted, dropped to second place behind LG.안전놀이터

While Kim Min-sung was the star of the show at the plate, it was starter Lim Chan-kyu who shined on the mound. He pitched six innings, giving up three hits (one home run) and one walk while striking out three to earn his fourth win of the season. He also earned his second Quality Start (QS) of the season after the Jamsil Kiwoom Heroes on April 11.

Although he had a rough start, giving up a leadoff single to Choi Joo-hwan in the second inning, Lim settled down in the third inning and got out of a jam with runners on second and third in the bottom of the sixth inning by striking out SSG foreign hitter Guillermo Heredia on a wild pitch.

After the game, Lim said, “I didn’t strike out a lot. On days when my velocity goes up, I get a lot of hits, but I think I need to check that part.” He reflected on his pitching, saying, “I thought of my velocity as a so-called ‘tinkle,’ but I didn’t think of throwing harder, and I thought of it as the same command, so the result was good.

His fastball has improved to the point where it has reached a maximum velocity of 147 km/h. “Before I threw, I thought my fastball was going to be good. For some reason, this weather was a little better, and I felt good. In 2021 and last year, if I threw hard and got a fastball, I got a fastball even though I threw with the same balance as an all-hander. I didn’t intend to throw hard, but it felt good to get that kind of control.”

On Heredia’s strikeout in the bottom of the sixth inning, he recalled, “My pitching coach came up in the middle and told me to pick the pitch I was most confident in because it was a three-run game, even if it was a single, because we had the lead.” “I wanted to throw a really strong changeup, not just throw a strike, and I think it went in the way I wanted it to go in, and I had a momentary (fist-pumping) celebration,” he said.

Lim has been working his way through the starting rotation since mid-April, gradually building up his velocity and is now capable of going six innings. Given the early season struggles and the injury-plagued mound, Im’s role was crucial. LG manager Yoon Kyung-yeop said ahead of the game, “Chan-kyu’s role is more than 50 percent responsible for creating an axis that our team can hold on to. His preparation for this season has been a great help to the pitching staff,” he said.

When asked about Yeom’s mention of him during the interview, Im laughed, saying, “I don’t know what I would have done without him.” “He told me to use my changeup from spring training, and when I was preparing for long relief, he told me to support the younger pitchers because they are better, so I focused on that, and somehow I let go of the idea of a starting spot, quality starts, and five innings. And then as I found my color, the opportunities came naturally, and (after that) it was good that I went into the game with the mindset that I could always go to long relief, rather than trying to take the opportunity,” he said, expressing his gratitude to his manager.

“If the situation arises and (Lee) Min-ho or a young good pitcher comes up, I think it’s good for me to provide strength in the middle,” Lim said. “Rather than modifying my goals, I think it’s good for my value and for the team to be able to perform well if I just fill in where the team needs me. I’m not greedy because I don’t care if I come and go,” he said.