KT Wiz’s momentum is great. After a neck-and-neck race in the 12th inning of extra time, he secured the winning series by plunging the LG Twins into a five-game losing streak. 스포츠토토핫 KT Wiz won a 4-3 walk-off victory after 12 extra innings in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League home game against the LG Twins at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 26th.
With the victory, KT marked 41 wins, 2 draws, and 42 losses with three consecutive wins. The winning margin, which once widened to -14 (10th place with 10 wins, 2 draws and 24 losses at the time of KT on May 18), has now decreased to -1. It is worth saying that it is ‘Miracle KT’, which won the integrated championship in the 2021 season. The league ranking remained in fifth place. LG, on the other hand, fell into a five-game losing streak of shock and failed to surpass the nine-game mark once again. LG maintained its lead in the league with 49 wins, 2 draws and 33 losses. Now, KT and LG will face off at 6:30 p.m. on the 27th at the same venue for the final three consecutive games during the week. KT is aiming to win the sweep and LG is aiming to avoid the sweep loss.
Both teams were virtually all the main players. LG’s lineup is missing Kim Min-sung and KT’s Cho Yong-ho. Before the game, KT manager Lee Kang-chul said, “In the meantime, I have always slipped without overcoming the crisis in the margin of -3. “The players are doing really well,” he said, giving credit to the team. KT reduced the winning margin to -2 with the victory the previous day (25th) and finally took the game to -1, making the winning margin to -1. On the other hand, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said, “Benjamin’s ball (who was the starter the previous day) was good.” Our team lost four games to him this season. He said, “Next time, he will definitely come against us, and I believe he will show another side of himself then.”
Following the previous day, KT held a water festival on the same day to entertain baseball fans in midsummer. KT is also the first ‘original club’ to plan and practice the Water cannon Festival. This season, it mobilized 18 artificial rainfall machines, 16 water canons, and 360-degree tornado sprinklers. Whenever KT’s hits and scores came out, it gave KT fans a cool water cannon. On this day, a KT official said, “We shot 15 to 20 tons of water.”
KT starter Ko Young-pyo put LG’s batting order to rest by throwing his good ball to his heart’s content at the beginning of the game. He pitched perfectly with one out in the fourth inning. On the other hand, LG starter Lim Chan-kyu continued his pitching by minimizing runs despite the crisis. In the first inning, leadoff hitter Kim Min-hyuk hit a direct double on the right fence. Next up is Kim Sangsoo. Here, coach Lee Kang-chul made a winning move by bunting from the first inning. Considering that Ko Young-pyo is the starter, he believes that he can solve it in an advantageous way if he scores first. In the end, Kim Sang-soo succeeded in a sacrifice bunt and became the third base with one out. Follow-up Alford is a foul flyout by first baseman. Lim Chan-kyu, who caught two outs well, dedicated consecutive walks to Park Byung-ho and Jang Sung-woo, but induced Kang Baek-ho to a grounder to third base to overcome the desperate full base crisis. LG third baseman Moon Bo-kyung’s diving catch shone.
However, Lim Chan-kyu gave up the first run in the second inning. Leadoff hitter Hwang Jae-kyun hit a left-center double and went to third base when Park Kyung-soo grounded out to second base. Park Kyung-soo’s team batting shone. Bae Jung-dae then hit a sacrifice hit to center field to make it 1-0. He continued to allow Kim Min-hyuk a right-center hit and Kim Sang-soo a walk, respectively, but did not give up additional runs by handling Alford as a fly ball to right field. The third episode was Lim Chan-kyu’s first three-way retirement.
It was after one out in the fourth inning that Ko Young-pyo’s perfect march was broken. He caught leadoff hitter Hong Chang-ki with a grounder to second base, but threw a ball that hit Moon Sung-joo’s body for the fourth time. Kim Hyun-soo, the next batter, gave up a right-handed hit, ending his no-hitter streak. Here, Austin hit a clean left-handed timely hit and turned the game to 1-1 origin. With Oh Ji-hwan’s right-handed hit, LG continued its full base opportunity, but Park Dong-won dropped his head as he stepped down with a double play in front of the second baseman.
It was an opportunity after the crisis. KT immediately ran away to 3-1 by adding two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Following leadoff hitter Hwang Jae-kyun’s right-center double, Park Kyung-soo made a sacrifice bunt. Subsequently, Bae Jung-dae hit a timely double that fell inside the left-field line, bringing third baseman Hwang Jae-kyun home.(2-1) Continued one-out second base opportunity. Bae Jung-dae succeeded in stealing third base, and LG Infield played forward defense. Here, when Kim Min-hyuk grounded out to second base, Shin Min-jae caught the ball and boldly sprayed it home, but Bae Jung-dae had already used home. The official record is the Beast’s choice. The score was 3-1. However, Kim Sang-soo failed to score additional points as he stepped down with a fly ball to right field and Alford struck out, respectively.
Ko Young-pyo, who carried the lead on his back, gained more momentum. In the fifth inning, LG’s 7, 8 and 9 bottom batting order, which led to Moon Bo-kyung, Park Hae-min, and Shin Min-jae, was ruled out. In the sixth inning, he dedicated a right-center hit to Kim Hyun-soo after two outs, but struck out Austin and clenched his fist.
After one out in the fifth inning, KT created a first and second base opportunity with Jang Sung-woo’s heavy hit and Kang Baek-ho’s walk. In the end, Lim Chan-kyu’s pitching ended here. Kim Jin-sung then took the mound and put out the fire by thinning out Hwang Jae-kyun with a double play in front of the second baseman. In the sixth inning, “Pil Seung-jo” Ham Deok-ju took the mound. The moment I can feel LG’s will to win. Ham Deok-ju started with a difficult start by giving up a walk to leadoff hitter Park Kyung-soo, but after handling Bae Jung-dae’s flyout (bunt), he induced Kim Min-hyuk to a ground ball in front of the pitcher and caught the leading runner. Two outs. He gave up a straight walk to Kim Sang-soo, but finished his mission by pulling Alford to a ground ball to shortstop.
As LG’s bat rarely burst, the game was heading to the second half. Alford, who fell while running toward first base in the end of the sixth inning, was replaced by Song Min-seop. Fortunately, it does not appear to have been seriously injured. A KT official explained, “It is not a replacement due to injury.” Ko also took the mound in the seventh inning. He finished his pitch on the day by inducing leadoff hitter Oh Ji-hwan to ground out to third base, Park Dong-won to a catcher’s foul flyout to the first pitch, and Moon Bo-kyung to ground out to third base, respectively.
And the top of the eighth inning. LG fans gathered at KT Wiz Park shouted as much as they wanted for the first time in a long time. After KT lowered Ko Young-pyo, the second pitcher Park Young-hyun was put in. Park Young-hyun, who played a key role in the KT bullpen throughout the first half of this season. His performance in the first half was 2 wins, 2 losses, 16 holds, 1 save, and 2.23. However, in the second half, he had 1 loss and 1 hold ERA without winning 2 games before this game. And he allowed a run in the game that day, too. After allowing a left-center hit to leadoff hitter Park Hae-min, he threw a walk to Shin Min-jae for the fifth time, causing a crisis of first and second base with no outs. Leadoff Hong Chang-ki then hit a timely two-run double that divides the right-center, turning the game back to the starting point of 3-3. LG, which gained momentum, replaced Moon Sung-joo with pinch hitter Heo Do-hwan. Heo Dong-hwan completed his mission by making a perfect sacrifice bunt toward third base. However, Kim Hyun-soo failed to turn the tables as he bowed his head with a foul flyout to third baseman and Austin a flyout to right fielder, respectively.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, LG chose Baek Seung-hyun as its fifth pitcher. After one out, Bae Jung-dae hit a left-center hit. After putting pinch hitter Lee Ho-yeon out with a fly ball to second base, he gave up a walk to Kim Sang-soo. However, he finished the inning by catching pinch hitter Moon Sang-chul with a flyout to second base. And the top of the ninth inning. LG took a golden opportunity. KT posted closer Kim Jae-yoon. The leadoff hitter is Oh Ji-hwan. After throwing strikes on the first pitch, he threw four balls in a row and allowed walks. Oh Ji-hwan then succeeded by stealing second base from the first pitch during Park Dong-won’s at-bat. A golden opportunity with no outs and runners on second base. However, catcher Park Dong-won’s sacrifice bunt popped up and he was caught by the catcher. a bunt failure through. 1 out and 2nd base. Next up is Moon Bo Kyung. He hit the first pitch against Kim Jae-yoon and made a hit in front of the center fielder. Second baseman Oh Ji-hwan was rushing home around third base. At this time, Bae Jung-dae’s accurate home throw continued, and a neck-and-neck race took place at home. The result is out. Jang Sung-woo neatly caught and tagged Oh Ji-hwan out. Two outs. Then, even the next batter Park Hae-min stepped down with a straight hit to third base and bowed his head.
It was an opportunity after the crisis. For LG, Choi Dong-hwan came up in the bottom of the ninth inning. However, he gave up a left-center hit to Park Byung-ho. KT put pressure on Oh Yoon-seok, a pinch-runner. KT made a chance to second base with one out with Jang Sung-woo’s sacrifice bunt. Kang Baek-ho stepped down with a flyout deep in the center field. 2 out. Hwang Jae-kyun ordered an automatic 4th ball when he was driven to the ball count 3-1. First and second base chance. The next batter, Park Kyung-soo, hit a fly ball to center field and the game went into extra time.
the top of the 10th inning of extra time. LG’s attack. It ended in vain. KT’s fourth pitcher is Shin Dong-hyun. Leadoff hitter Shin Min-jae was out with a fly ball to shortstop, and Hong Chang-ki and Lee Joo-hyung were out with a fly ball to left field side by side. the bottom of the 10th inning that followed. LG pitcher Yoo Young-chan. He also confronted them with a three-way penalty. Bae Jung-dae was struck out, Ahn Chi-young was struck out to left field, and Kim Sang-soo was struck out with a swing. the top of the 11th inning of extra time. Still KT pitcher is Son Dong-hyun. It was a three-way exit. Kim Hyun-soo, center fielder fly ball, Austin strikeout, and Oh Ji-hwan, center fielder fly ball. the end of the inning. And the bottom of the 11th episode. The pitcher is still Yoo Young-chan. After one out, Oh Yoon-seok and Jang Sung-woo were allowed consecutive walks, facing a crisis of first and second base. Here, LG put Ko Woo-suk in. The batter is Kang Baek-ho. The winner was Ko Woo-suk. He erased the inning by inducing a double play in front of the second baseman for the fifth pitch. Kang Baek-ho threw his helmet from first base as if he was disappointed.
the top of the 12th inning of extra time. For KT, Son Dong-hyun came up again. Son Dong-hyun struck out Park Dong-won and handled Moon Bo-kyung with a fly ball to center field and gave a walk to Park Hae-min. At that time, coach Lee Kang-chul visited the mound once. In the end, he struck out Shin Min-jae with a swing and ended his “three-inning no-hit” all-out pitching.