The key to CITIC Brothers winning the title in the second half of the season: the bullpen’s stabilization and Lu Yanqing’s key performance

Lu Yanqing. (File photo)

[Reporter Gong Naijie/Taipei Report] CITIC Brothers won the championship in the second half of the season. Of course, offensive recovery is the key, but head coach Hirano Keiichi has emphasized many times that the offensive rebound has something to do with the pitcher's stabilization. Looking back at CITIC's pitching department in the second half of the season, the bullpen has rebounded from the bottom and become stable. Lu Yanqing's performance is the most critical. He has led the team to the fore in major crises and broke through deadlocks many times. He swept 6 wins in August and September alone. He is undoubtedly the most successful foreign name in the 2021 draft.

CITIC's bullpen was miserable in the first half of the season, with 12 losses and an ERA as high as 4.30. Both statistics were the worst in the league. It also had a record of 0-3 in overtime, making it the only team unable to break through the deadlock. However, the situation turned around in the second half of the season. The bullpen had a record of 11-7, an ERA better than the league average, and more importantly, a record of 4-1 in the overtime. The bullpen regained control of the late game.

Pitching coach Wang Jianmin believes that in the first half of the season, pitchers were more tied with their hands and feet, and in the second half of the season they were able to let go and throw the quality of the ball. "It may not be that the control is completely accurate, but the angle and tail power of the ball are better than in the first half of the season." He also named Zeng Pinyang and Chen Hu as the highlights of the bullpen. "A Hu is much better than last year and helps the bullpen a lot. Pinyang has the ability to suppress hitters. There is no big problem."

Lu Yanqing, who has the biggest heart, scored 6 wins in 10 games from 8/21 to 9/22. The most classic battle was on 8/21 when Chen Hu resolved the crisis of 0 outs and full bases. In addition, on 8/28, 9/18, and 9/19, he broke through the deadlock without losing any points, awakening the line to see off the offensive. Wang Jianmin bluntly said that Lu Yanqing is a smart pitcher who knows how to use experience to control the game.

Looking back at the 2021 draft that has returned due to the epidemic, the top picks Lang Jiang Shaoqing and Hu Zhiwei still have 0 championships, and Ji Li Ji Lao. Gong Guan and Chen Guanyu contributed 1 championship to the team, but Lu Yanqing has contributed 3 championships. This year, he has continued to contribute at the forefront and has the opportunity to contribute another championship.