“Sunshine” Kim Sun-Woo Notches His 4th Win

Kim was just one strike away from a shutout.

But Kim Sun-woo (27, Montreal Expos) allowed a double, which gave away a run right before clinching his first shutout in the major leagues. One pitch can turn into anything in baseball.

In the match up between the Montreal Expos and the Philadelphia Phillies at Montreal, Canada on September 25, Montreal succeeded in scoring big points in the opening innings to extend the lead to 8-0, and the whole focus then inclined towards whether Kim could seize his first complete game.

Kim Sun-Woo stepped on the mound in the ninth inning after finishing the eighth with six hits and no runs. After an out, Kim sent a runner to first with a walk, but fanned the next batter with three strikes to make it two outs. There was only one out left to go and his first and second pitches slipped into the strike zone. But Philadelphia’s Jason Michaels didn`t let it go that easily. Kim threw an outside fastball and lost his shutout bid as the ball flew into the centerfield gap and the runner on first base stepped onto home plate.

Frank Robinson went straight to the mound, relieved Kim and sent in a closer. Frank Robinson commented, "Kim threw the most pitches that game this season, so I had to bring him in."

But the standing home fans gave big applause to Kim when he stepped off the mound. Kim, who responded by tipping his hat, lost the chance to record a complete game shutout, but received warm congratulations from his teammates in the dugout.

Kim threw the most pitches, 123, since his debut, and recorded eight strikeouts and wrapped up the game with seven hits and two walks allowed, and a run in eight and two-thirds innings. Kim also hit a two-run double in the fourth inning and notched two hits for the first time in his major league career.

Foreign news sources have dubbed Kim as "Sunshine" from the day’s game, which fits his nickname, "Sunny."

Kim Sun-woo, who earned his fourth win (against five losses) and his first since his last victory against the Kansas City Royals on June 11, a span of 106 days, commented, " I`ve never thrown over 90 pitches by the sixth inning. After the sixth and seventh innings, I got a little tired, but I wanted to throw more."

With Kim`s victory, Korean pitchers added one more win in 18 appearances after Baek Cha-Seung (Seattle Mariners) captured victory on September 29.

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com