One More Save

“Eligible enough, right?”

Kim Byung-hyun of Arizona Diamondbacks, demonstrated what it mean to be an all-star relief pitcher. On July 4th, Arizona took on LA Dodgers at the Bankone Ball Park in Ari. Both teams belong to the National League West, and are rivals of each other. Kim took the mound in the ninth with his team leading 5-3. For that inning, he just gave one hit and no score, sealing the victory of his team. By this, he has recorded his 21st save.

This came 4 days after his 20th in June 20. His moving-in was kind of dramatic. For two consecutive days, Diamondbacks lost to Dodgers without scoring any point. In this day’s game, Arizona did not show any sign of winning. By the seventh, the Dodgers were leading 3-2. The chance came in the bottom of the eighth. With runners on first and second base and one out, McCracken made a big hit against the best reliever of the National League, Ganae (30 saves). His hit called in all runners and turned his team around. Grace sacrificed himself, scoring one more. With the three scores in the eighth, Arizona paved the way for the victory.

With two-point advantage, Kim threw in full confidence in the ninth and overwhelmed the Dodgers’ hitters. He grounded out the first and second hitters (Grissom and Reboulet, respectively). To Cora, he allowed a hit to the left field. But he handled Grudzielanek in the center-field fly-out, ending the game.

He threw 17, 10 of them were strikes. At best, he pitched 91 miles (147km). His season records were 3 wins, 1 loss and 21 saves, lowering his E.R.A. to 2.42. His 21st save conveys a lot of meaning. With this, Kim silenced Jim Colburn the pitching coach of the Dodgers, who criticized, “Kim is not eligible for a spot in the All-Star game.”

Breaching the 2-game losing streak, Arizona got close to the Dodgers, which is leading the National League West. Two teams are just 2 and a half games apart.

On July 3, Kim Sun-woo (25) of Boston Red Socks made his debut in the Major League and also recorded his first win. He is expected to be the staring pitcher in the July 8th home game against the Detroit Tigers.

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com