Thanks to the bullpen’s good fighting, the KT Wiz achieved their first 6 wins in a row.
KT won 3-2 in the 7th game of the season against Kiwoom Heroes of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 9th and won 6 consecutive wins. KT’s season record was 22 wins, 2 draws and 30 losses (0.423).
KT, who gave up the first run with Kim Soo-hwan’s push-off walk in the beginning of the 2nd inning, succeeded in reversing with Kim Min-hyeok’s 1 RBI at the end of the 3rd inning and Park Byeong-ho’s solo catcher at the end of the 4th inning.
KT faced a crisis in the middle of the game. Wes Benjamin, who started as a starting pitcher, gave up 1 hit, 7 walks, 4 strikeouts and 2 runs in 5⅓ innings, giving up the most walks in a game since his debut in the KBO League. Eventually, with Benjamin’s replacement, the bullpen took over the mound in the 6th inning with 1 out and 1 base.
Even after replacing the pitcher, KT’s crisis did not end. After second pitcher Kim Min-soo struck out Kim Dong-heon, third pitcher Lee Sang-dong hit Kim Hui-jip with an RBI in a timely manner following a wild throw, narrowing the gap between the two teams. The score is 2-2.
However, Lee Sang-dong, who finished the 6th inning without any additional runs, found a sense of stability and was responsible for 1⅓ innings without a run through the 7th inning. In addition, the fourth pitcher Ju Kwon fulfilled his duties by pitching a scoreless pitch until the ninth inning.
The bullpen even received help from the defense. The fourth pitcher, Son Dong-Hyun, got a right-handed hit by Lee Jeong-Hu with 1 out on 1st and 2nd base in the beginning of the 9th inning, but right fielder Jung Joon-Young caught second base runner Lim Byung-Wook at home. In a situation where the weight of the match could lean towards Kiwoom, he did not allow the opponent to turn around with an accurate throw.
Son Dong-hyun, who took a breather thanks to the beasts, overcame the crisis without conceding a run with Kim Hui-jip’s double hit at first base with one out in the top of the 10th inning, and KT put an end to the fierce game with Jang Seong-woo’s ending sacrifice fly at the end of the 10th inning.
On this day, KT had difficulties in operating the bullpen. Park Young-hyeon, who is in charge of one axis of Pil Seung-jo, played all three matches during the week against the Lotte Giants, and had to start three weekend matches without Park Young-hyun.스포츠토토
However, the remaining pitchers were able to complete the team’s 6th consecutive win by fulfilling their roles for 4⅔innings.
On the 10th, KT will challenge Lee Seon-woo as a starter and win 7 consecutive wins. Kiwoom predicted An Woo-jin as the starting pitcher.