Seoul: For a moment there, it appeared to be yet another disastrous outing for Hanwha Eagles reliever Kim Seo-hyeon. The 21-year-old All-Star closer had been giving up crushing late-inning hits and home runs in recent games, including a homer that ended his team's hope of winning the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) pennant earlier this month and another that cost the Eagles a lead in a postseason game last week.

According to Yonhap News Agency, on Wednesday, with the Eagles trailing the LG Twins 2-1 in Game 3 of the Korean Series, Kim was brought in to keep it a one-run game. Instead, he threw a wild pitch that plated an insurance run for the Twins. Having already lost the first two games, the Eagles were six outs away from going down 3-0 in the best-of-seven KBO championship round. But then Kim's teammates bailed him out by scoring six times in the bottom eighth for a 7-3 lead-a margin large enough that Kim came back out for the ninth to close out the game and earn his first postseason win.

Kim was seen shedding tears in the dugout after the comeback win, for it represented a personal comeback for himself. "I had been losing confidence for the past several weeks," Kim conceded during his postgame press conference. "My teammates and coaches tried to help me get back on my feet. I wanted to do that as quickly as possible but it just took much longer than I'd hoped."

According to Kim, the common thread in the messages from his teammates was this: we are only in the Korean Series because of what you've done all year. "So that really motivated me to find my ways again," the pitcher added. "It's been such a long time since I was able to lock down a win in the ninth inning. The memories of those tough moments came flooding back to me, and that's why I cried after this game."

Eagles manager Kim Kyung-moon had stuck with Kim Seo-hyeon throughout the pitcher's struggles. At every opportunity he'd had in media availabilities, the manager said he would keep sending out the youngster in save situations. The pitcher himself said he only found out about those words through his parents. "I just wanted to reward him for his trust in me," Kim Seo-hyeon said. "I will try to remember the feeling from this game and keep pitching with more confidence."

Sitting beside Kim at the presser, shortstop Sim Woo-jun said, "So I hope you just forget about all those games and start pitching like you can." Sim was there because he'd delivered the big blow with his bat, a go-ahead two-run double during the six-run eighth inning. Sim had lost his starting shortstop gig for the postseason, after joining the Eagles as one of the big free agent signings during the offseason. He had always been a glove-first shortstop and any offense from him is considered a bonus, but even by his relatively low standards, Sim struggled at the plate.

He batted .231 in the regular season, his lowest mark since his rookie year in 2015, while missing 50 games with assorted injuries. In this game, Sim came on as a pinch runner in the seventh but got thrown out trying to steal second. Just when it seemed things couldn't go much worse for Sim, the 30-year-old flipped his postseason narrative with the big eighth-inning hit. "I am just glad we never gave up in this game, and also happy that Seo-hyeon pitched with so much confidence," Sim said with a smile. "I feel like we can keep winning from here and on."

Sim was an integral member of the KT Wiz's 2021 Korean Series championship team. While playing his typically excellent defense, Sim batted 6-for-15 with a double in the four-game sweep of the Doosan Bears. Sim said he was itching for another opportunity to prove his postseason mettle. "I wanted to play right from the first game, and getting stuck on the bench really fueled me," Sim said. "Obviously, in big games like this, players in good form have to get the start. But I was trying to stay ready and figure out ways to help the team win."

As for preparing for a possible Game 4 start, Sim said, "If I get into the starting lineup, I will try to focus on making sound plays on defense. But if I'm asked to come off the bench, I will try to make whatever plays the team needs."