WC Upset for the first time ever? KT, 'King of multiple wins that he's never won't be able to beat! 4-0 complete victory over Doosan

Oct 02, 2024

WC Upset for the first time ever? KT, 'King of multiple wins that he's never won't be able to beat! 4-0 complete victory over Doosan
KT and Doosan at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 2nd, KT Cuevas on the 1st wild card game with 1 out and 1st and 3rd base in the bottom of the 6th inning, cheers after finishing the inning with consecutive strikeouts of Doosan's Kim Jae-hwan and Yang Seok-hwan. Jamsil = Reporter Heo Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com /2024.10.02/



WC Upset for the first time ever? KT, 'King of multiple wins that he's never won't be able to beat! 4-0 complete victory over Doosan
KT fans in the third base stands are cheering for KT and Doosan at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 2nd. Jamsil = Reporter Heo Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com /2024.10.02/
Autumn baseball with momentum. KT Wiz succeeded in gaining the upper hand.

KT won the first game of the postseason wild card game against the Doosan Bears 4-0 at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 2nd. In the wild-card game, which will be played in two games, KT, ranked fifth, will succeed in advancing to the semi-playoff if it wins two games and Doosan, ranked fourth, one win. In the all-time wild-card game, the fifth-place team has never advanced to the semi-playoff. KT's hopes of advancing to the semi-playoff were saved by winning one game.

On this day, Doosan formed the starting lineup in the order of Jung Soo-bin (center fielder), Kim Jae-ho (striker), Jarrod Young (left fielder), Kim Jae-hwan (designated hitter), Yang Seok-hwan (first baseman), Kang Seung-ho (second baseman), Heo Kyung-min (third baseman), Kim Ki-yeon (posoo), and Cho Soo-haeng (right fielder).



Yang Eui-ji is missing. Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop said, `I'm not in the position to start yet. It only goes back about 7-80%, but it's not that bad. I saw you practicing a little while ago, and it's in the recovery phase, but you have to wait and see what's going on. It's hard to hit. If there is a situation, I think it may be possible to pay for the second half of the game" he explained.

For KT, Kim Min-hyuk (left fielder), Mel Rojas Jr. (right fielder), Jang Sung-woo (possession), Kang Baek-ho (designated hitter), Oh Jae-il (first baseman), Oh Yoon-seok (second baseman), Hwang Jae-gyun (third baseman), Bae Jung-dae (middle fielder), and Shim Woo-joon (striker) will start.



WC Upset for the first time ever? KT, 'King of multiple wins that he's never won't be able to beat! 4-0 complete victory over Doosan
A game between the Doosan Bears and KT Wiz in the first round of the wild card decision at Jamsil Stadium on the 2nd. Doosan starter Kwak Bin is being replaced in the top of the second inning with no outs and runners on first base. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2024.10.02/
The joys and sorrows of the first inning were divided. Doosan had Kwak Bin, the most reliable pitcher, as its starter. Kwak Bin won the game with Won Tae-in (Samsung) with 15 wins and 9 losses and a 4.24 ERA this season. Above all, he played in six games against KT, showing strong performance with five wins, no losses, and an ERA of 1.51. On this day, Kwak Bin threw a fastball of up to 156 kilometers. KT targeted Kwak Bin, whose control was shaky. Leading hitter Kim Min-hyuk drew a walk, followed by Rojas' left-handed hit. Jang Sung-woo's timely hit scored the first point. In the process, mistakes overlapped to make runners on the second and third bases.

WC Upset for the first time ever? KT, 'King of multiple wins that he's never won't be able to beat! 4-0 complete victory over Doosan
KT Kang Baek-ho is happy to hit in the top of the third inning in the first wild card game between KT and Doosan at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 2nd. Jamsil = Reporter Heo Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com /2024.10.02/
KT, which was in the mood, perfectly targeted Kwak Bin. Kang Baek-ho's timely hit added one more point, and Oh Jae-il hit a hit to run 3-0. Afterwards, KT, which made Oh Yoon-seok's sacrifice bunt with one out and runners on the second and third bases, struck out Hwang Jae-kyun, but scored the fourth point with Bae Jeong-dae's timely hit.



Doosan had a chance to hit first and second bases with no outs in the bottom of the first inning with consecutive hits by Jung Soo-bin and Kim Jae-ho, but no follow-up hits continued.

Cuevas' power struggle has begun. Cuevas completely blocked Doosan's batters by actively mixing sliders and cutters along with fastballs.

Doosan succeeded in getting on base everywhere, but it rarely led to a score. In particular, he had a chance at first and third bases with one out in the sixth inning following the first inning, but it was painful that both Kim Jae-hwan and Yang Seok-hwan, the center hitters, struck out.

In the ninth inning, leadoff hitter Kim Jae-hwan also hit, but Yang Seok-hwan's fly ball and Kang Seung-ho's fly ball made it to first base with two outs. Heo Kyung-min's hit-o made it to the second and third bases, but rookie Yeo Dong-gun's silence as a pinch hitter eventually promised the second game.

WC Upset for the first time ever? KT, 'King of multiple wins that he's never won't be able to beat! 4-0 complete victory over Doosan
A game between the Doosan Bears and KT Wiz in the first round of the wild card decision at Jamsil Stadium on the 2nd. KT Park Young-hyun is pitching hard. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2024.10.02/
Following Cuevas' good pitching, Kim Min (⅓ innings scoreless), Son Dong-hyun (one ⅔ scoreless), and Park Young-hyun (one inning scoreless) came up one after another to keep the victory.

With Kwak Bin going down early, Balazovic pitched four innings, while Lee Kyo-hoon (⅓ innings scoreless), Lee Young-ha (⅔ innings scoreless), Kim Kang-ryul (one inning scoreless), Lee Byung-hun (⅓ innings scoreless), Choi Won-joon (⅔ innings scoreless), and Hong Gun-hee (one inning scoreless) took the mound.



bellstop@sportschosun.com