It's been seven years and he's now a veteran in his late 30s, but Yang Hyun-jong (36-KIA Tigers) has never pitched better.
Yang started Game 2 of the best-of-seven Korean Series (KS-7) against the Samsung Lions at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on Wednesday, allowing two runs (one earned) on eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
He wasn't at his best, topping out at 145 mph on his fastball, but he was confident enough to throw 56 strikes out of 86 pitches.
With runners on first and second in the sixth inning with a 7-2 lead, Yang handed the mound over to Lee Jun-young to finish the job.
With Yang on the mound, Kia's offense exploded and the team defeated Samsung 8-3 to clinch both Games 1 and 2 of the Korean Series at Anbang.
It had been 2,554 days since he had pitched a complete game, nine-inning victory in Game 2 of the Korean Series against the Doosan Bears at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on October 26, 2017.
Yang was named the game's Most Valuable Player (MVP) and earned $1 million in prize money.
Yang was the main contributor to Kia's 'V11' in 2017.
Facing the Doosan Bears, Kia dropped Game 1 and brought out left-handed ace Yang Hyun-jong for Game 2.
In the clutch, Yang pitched a nine-inning, four-hit, two-strikeout, 11-hit shutout to lead Kia to a 1-0 victory.
He became the first pitcher in Korean Series history to throw a 1-0 shutout.
After tying the series, Kia won Games 3 and 4 to take a 3-1 lead in the series.
Then, with a 7-6 lead in Game 5, 토토사이트 Yang came back in the ninth inning and pitched one scoreless inning to seal the win for Kia.
With one win and one save in the series, Yang was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Korean Series.
In his first Korean Series appearance in seven years, Yang gave up a single to Lewin Diaz in the top of the first inning, but got Kang Min-ho to fly out to center field to end the first inning on just seven pitches.
With Yang Hyeon-jong, the most experienced pitcher in the game, back on the mound, the KIA bats scored five runs in the bottom of the first to take the pressure off the ace.
With the lead in hand, Yang was aggressive in the top of the second inning, allowing just one hit and throwing 11 pitches in a scoreless inning.
Yang ran into his first trouble in the top of the third inning.
After giving up an infield single to leadoff hitter Kim Hyun-jun, he struck out Kim Ji-chan and Kim Heon-gon back-to-back to end the inning with ease.
However, he gave up a single to Diaz and a walk to Kang Min-ho to load the bases.
Even with a 6-0 lead, there was no telling where the game could go with one long hit.
Yang Hyun-jong got Kim Young-woong to fly out to center field to put the third zero on the scoreboard.
In the top of the fourth, Ryu Ji-hyuk singled with one out, and Jeon Byung-woo flied out to center field.
Kim Hyun-joon then hit a grounder to the first baseman, and Lee Woo-sung threw to Yang Hyun-jong, who was covering first base, allowing Ryu Ji-hyuk to score from first.
After giving up the first run, Yang Hyun-jong was shaken up by a single to the next batter, Kim Ji-chan, but got Kim Hun-gon to ground out to third base.
After getting out of the fifth inning with the first triple of the game, Yang faced another threat in the top of the sixth inning when he gave up a double to Ryu Ji-hyuk and a walk to Jeon Byung-woo.
He then gave up a single to left-center to Kim Hyun-joon, and Kia began to mobilize its strong bullpen.
The junior pitchers took the mound behind Yang Hyun-jong and held the senior to one run in the remaining 3⅔ innings to preserve the win.
Yang responded to the fans' cheers with applause as he walked off the mound.