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The KT Wiz swept the LG Twins in game one of their quest to win the Korean Series for the first time in 29 years.
KT has a 74% chance of winning the series with a Game 1 victory.
KT Wiz won the first game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Postseason Korean Series (best-of-four series) against the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium (23,750 seats sold out) in Seoul on Sunday afternoon, winning 3-2 after Moon Sang-chul hit a two-run double to left field in the top of the ninth inning with the score tied at 2-2.
This gave KT a 74% chance of winning the title. Historically, the team that wins Game 1 of the KBO Korean Series has gone on to win the championship 74.4 percent of the time (29 out of 39 times).
After finishing the regular season in first place, LG spent more than 20 days preparing for the first game of the Korean Series, including training against Cheongbaek.
KT completed a reverse sweep of NC in a hard-fought Game 5 of the playoffs and then won the first game against LG, making it four straight wins in this year’s postseason.
The two teams will now play Game 2 of the Korean Series at the same venue on April 8 at 6:30 pm.
KT’s starting lineup was Kim Sang-soo (shortstop), Hwang Jae-gyun (third base), Anthony Alford (left field), Park Byung-ho (first base), Jang Sung-woo (catcher), Bae Jeong-dae (center field), Moon Sang-chul (designated hitter), Park Kyung-soo (second base), and Cho Yong-ho (right field).
KT started Young-pyo Ko.
In the five games of the playoffs, Ko was batting .375 with two home runs, eight RBIs and a 1.250 OPS (on-base percentage).
He was also strong against Kelly this season, going 4-for-7 with a .571 slugging percentage.
KT manager Lee Kang-cheol said before the game, “I hit well against Kelly.
I thought about batting second, but Hwang Jae-gyun’s condition has improved a lot.
I didn’t want to put any pressure on him,” explaining the move from the eighth to the sixth spot in the batting order.
LG’s starting lineup was Hong Chang-ki (right field), Park Hae-min (center field), Kim Hyun-soo (designated hitter), Austin Dean (first base), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Moon Bo-kyung (third base), Park Dong-won (catcher), Moon Sung-joo (left field), and Shin Min-jae (second base).
LG started Casey Kelly.
Oh Ji-hwan, who was very strong against Ko Young-pyo, going 5-for-9 (.556 batting average) with one home run and two doubles, batted fifth.
LG manager Yoon Kyung-yup said, “I think the players’ eagerness was greater than mine.
In the meeting the day before (June 6), I said that hesitation is the worst enemy.
I’m fully aware of the players’ desire and passion, so I asked them to play calmly and coolly.”
The two teams exchanged runs in the first inning.
In the top of the first inning, KT leadoff hitter Kim Sang-soo singled up the middle and stole second base, advancing to third when catcher Park Dong-won’s throw to second fell behind. 카지노사이트가이드
Hwang Jae-gyun then hit a grounder to shortstop, which allowed the third baseman to score and take the lead.(1-0)
LG fought back in the top of the next inning.
One out later, Park Hae-min singled to center and Kim Hyun-soo singled to right to put runners on first and third.
Ko Young-pyo then induced Austin to ground out to second, but Park made a throwing error at second, allowing Hae-min to score the tying run from third.(1-1) After Oh Ji-hwan singled to right to load the bases, Moon Bo-kyung hit a sacrifice fly to right field.(2-1)
In the top of the second inning, there was a rare scene.
After leadoff hitter Jang Jang-woo reached on a throwing error by third baseman Moon Bo-kyung, Bae Jae-dae singled to left to put runners on first and second with no outs.
Moon Sang-chul tried to bunt on Kelly’s first pitch, but it fell a little short and landed in front of the catcher.
Park Dong-won caught the ball and threw to third without delay to force out Jang Jang-woo at second, and then Oh Ji-hwan threw to first to get the runner at second.
At this point, Bae Jae-dae, who had gone from first to second, suddenly started running for third, and Shin Min-jae threw him out at third.
At first, it seemed to be recorded as a triple, but.
The official score was a bunt single in front of the catcher, followed by a tag out by Choi Jae-dae on the basepaths.
The LG fans roared their approval. It was also the moment when KT’s flow was completely interrupted.
However, KT created chances again and eventually tied the game.
In the top of the fourth inning, after back-to-back singles by Hwang Jae-gyun and Alford, Park Byung-ho struck out on three pitches, but Jang Sung-woo hit a tiebreaking single to right-center field.
The game was tied at 2-2.
The game then moved to a bullpen battle as KT starter Ko Young-pyo pitched six innings and LG starter Kelly pitched 6⅓ innings, allowing two runs (one earned).
KT’s second pitcher was Son Dong-hyun, while LG’s second pitcher was Lee Jung-yong.
Son Dong-hyun and Lee Jung-yong worked one and ⅔ innings, respectively, to close out the seventh.
LG’s bats shined here and there. In the sixth inning, Alford’s deep fly to left field was caught by Moon Sung-joo to end the inning.
The seventh inning was the highlight. KT had runners on first and second. Pinch-hitter Kim Min-hyuk came to the plate in place of Park Kyung-gu.
He hit a single to right field against LG’s Lee Jung-yong. Second baseman Jang Jang-woo rounded third base, saw the sign from the first base coach, and rushed home.
However, LG right fielder Hong Chang-ki made a fantastic laser throw to snipe Jang Jang-woo.
Once again, Jamsil Stadium erupted in cheers from the LG fans.
From there, the bullpens of both teams went to work, and like two teams with strong back doors, there was no letup.
In the eighth inning, LG’s Ham Deok-ju took the mound and gave up a hit to Hwang Jae-gyun after two outs, but he struck out Alford on a wild pitch.
KT still had Son Dong-hyun on the mound, but he struck out the side to end the inning.
And in the ninth inning, the balance was broken again. LG brought up closer Ko Woo-seok.
Two batters later, after Choi Jae-dae drew a nine-pitch walk, Moon Sang-chul hit a timely double over the left field fence. A 3-2 lead.
The first-base side of the dugout, where the LG fans were crowded, went quiet, and the KT fans on the third-base side went into a frenzy.
In the ninth inning, Park Young-hyun took the mound to protect the one-run lead and end the game with a win.