Samsung Lions pitcher Oh Seung-hwan (42) recorded his fourth blown save of the season against the Daegu KIA on Feb. 2. He took the mound in the top of the ninth inning with his team holding a 4-3, one-run lead, but gave up the tying run to Socrates Brito. Seung-Hwan Oh got out of the inning to prevent further damage, but the team was unable to capitalize in extra innings and lost the game.

In 36 games and 37⅓ innings pitched this season, Oh is 1-4 with 24 saves and a 2.65 ERA. He is proving to be a top-notch closer even at his age.

However, his recent performance has been sluggish. On June 16 against the Changwon NC, he entered the game in the bottom of the ninth inning with his team leading 4-3, but gave up two runs on two hits and two walks while recording one out. He then earned saves in three consecutive games, but suffered his fourth loss of the season on April 28 against Suwon KT, giving up two runs on two hits and one walk in ⅓ of an inning with the team leading 4-3 and one run in the bottom of the ninth. Four days later, he was back on the mound against the KIA and picked up another blown save. He now has four blown saves in 36 games this season, three of which have come in the last six games.

When asked about Oh’s problems,

Samsung manager Park Jin-man paused for a moment before saying, “He tends to get a little overwhelmed. He seems to be struggling a bit with his command lately,” Park diagnosed. 고스톱사이트 “There is a big strike-ball difference, and the balls that come into the zone seem to be a little crowded. That’s been the trend lately.”

The good news is that the team has a chance to recalibrate at the end of the first half, with the All-Star break coming up. But if the recent slump continues, it’s hard to be confident in the early games of the second half, which will be crucial in the standings battle.

“We have two games left in the first half, and we’ll have to make some adjustments (after the first half),” Park said. “We don’t plan to make any adjustments (to Oh) right away. After the first half, we can rest players, get injured players back, and stabilize.”