After the game against the Suwon Doosan Bears on April 21, KT Wiz’s Jang Sung-woo expressed his hope for fall baseball, saying, “We still have over 100 games left, and last year we made it to fall baseball after 15 games.” Less than a week later, KT struck back, proving that the veteran’s rallying cry wasn’t just a pipe dream.
KT won its fourth game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the Samsung Lions 4-1 at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on April 26, extending its winning streak to three games. With the win, KT improved to 15-2 (.366) on the season and moved into a tie for ninth place with the Hanwha Eagles, who lost to the NC Dinos earlier in the day.
KT took the lead in the top of the first inning on an RBI single by Kang Min-ho, but Kim Min-hyuk evened the score with a solo shot in the top of the fourth. In the top of the fifth, Kim Sang-soo, who was visiting Lions Park for the first time since joining KT, hit an RBI single with runners on first and second before Anthony Alford followed with an RBI single of his own.
Leading by two runs in the top of the eighth, KT put runners on first and second with a single and an error before Moon Sang-chul singled up the middle to drive in pinch-hitter Park Min-seok. The game tilted in KT’s favor as the bats solidified the win. The bullpen protected the three-run lead until the end.
Starting pitcher Yoo Yeo-seong earned his first win in eight games this season with 5⅓ innings of four-hit ball, one walk, three strikeouts and one run (unearned). 메이저사이트 The bullpen followed suit with a scoreless relay of Jeon Won-joo (⅓ inning), Kim Min-soo (⅓ inning), Son Dong-hyun (1 inning), Park Young-hyun (1 inning), and Kim Jae-yoon (1 inning). The batting lineup was highlighted by multi-hit performances from Kim Min-hyuk and Moon Sang-chul.
KT took two of three games against Doosan on April 19-21, claiming the winning series for the first time in a month after a sweep against the Suwon SSG Landers on April 18-20. Having naturally created a good atmosphere, KT used the momentum to win the series against the Suwon Kiwoom Heroes on April 23-25. It was the first time this season that the team won two consecutive winning series.
This week, the team even shut down Kiwoom’s ace pitchers Ahn Woo-jin and Eric Yokishi, showing that the solid mound that KT boasts is starting to make a difference. With positive signs everywhere, it will be interesting to see if the return of injured players, coupled with Lee Kang-cheol’s hopes, will propel the team to greater heights.