The 154km rookie finish collapsed in the ninth inning with a two-run shot. 21 scoreless innings over. Oh Won-seok, Heysus cuevas scoreless, Kim Min-hyuk home run KT, and LG won 5-0 (Okinawa Review)

Mar 02, 2025

KT Wiz Kim Min-hyuk hits a superior two-run shot against LG pitcher Kim Young-woo in the top of the ninth inning in a practice game against the LG Twins on the 2nd. Photo courtesy of KT Wiz

KT Wiz Oh Won-seok is pitching hard in an away game against the LG Twins on the 2nd. Photo courtesy of KT Wiz

LG Twins Elijah Hernandez is starting and spraying the ball in a practice game against KT Wiz on the 2nd. Photo courtesy = LG Twins

[Okinawa (Japan) = Reporter Kwon In-ha of Sports Chosun] The mound of the LG Twins ended with 21 consecutive scoreless innings. LG's temporary closing candidate, rookie Kim Young-woo, got his first run after hitting a home run. And prospects raised by LG overstretched walks.

LG lost 0-5 in its third practice game against KT Wiz at Kinosa Stadium in Okinawa, Japan, on the 2nd. A tight 0-0 pitching match was held until the eighth inning, and the game was decided in the ninth inning.

LG made up the starting lineup with Hong Chang-ki (right wing), Austin (first baseman), Kim Hyun-soo (left wing), Moon Bo-kyung (designated hitter), Oh Ji-hwan (striker), Park Dong-won (catcher), Park Hae-min (middle fielder), Koo Bon-hyuk (third baseman), Shin Min-jae (second baseman), and KT made up Kang Baek-ho (designated hitter), Rohas (right wing), Heo Kyung-min (third baseman), Jang Sung-woo (catcher), Moon Sang-cheol (first baseman), Hwang Jae-gyun (second baseman), Jang Jin-hyuk (left wing), Bae Jung-dae (middle fielder). The main point is that Hwang Jae-kyun will play second base and Jang Jin-hyuk, who came from Hanwha as a compensation player, will start in left field.

LG allowed two hits and one run against the KIA Tigers on the 27th, and showed an iron wall pitching with nine scoreless innings against the Samsung Lions on the 1st. He has been scoreless in 13 consecutive innings since allowing one run in the bottom of the fifth inning against KIA.

The scoreless inning continued until the eighth inning. After starter Eliaser Hernandez allowed two scoreless innings, Choi Chae-heung, Jung Woo-young, Kim Kang-ryul, Park Myung-geun, Sung Dong-hyun, and Woo Kang-hoon pitched one inning each, continuing their scoreless streak until the top of the eighth inning.

KT's mound was also thick. After starter Oh Won-seok gave up three scoreless innings, Emmanuel de Heysus threw three innings and Cuevas threw two innings, so three starters blocked the LG mound scoreless.

In a tight 0-0 race, Kim Young-woo took the mound in the top of the ninth inning. Kim Young-woo is a temporary finisher in case Jang Hyun-sik fails to come to the opening game. He is testing his ability as a finisher through practice and exhibition games.

Kim Young-woo, who turned the game around 3-1 against KIA on the 27th and took the mound in the bottom of the 9th inning with a fastball of up to 154km to end up saving, planned to take the mound against Samsung on the 1st, but decided to take the mound in the 9th inning against KT on the 2nd without taking the mound with a 5-0 lead.

KT Wiz Hwang Jae-kyun is playing second baseman and defending. Photo courtesy of KT Wiz

LG Twins Choi Chae-heung is pitching against KT Wiz on the 2nd. Photo courtesy = LG Twins

And the situation in the top of the ninth inning of 0-0. In the regular season, Kim Young-woo took the mound with the closing pitcher coming out. Kim Young-woo was shaken in a tie that could have lost if given a different score from the closing situation. He gave up a walk to the lead, Chun Sung-ho, and threw a wild pitch during Oh Yoon-seok's at-bat, putting him on the verge of second base with no outs. Oh Yoon-seok was struck out, but he was hit by the next batter, Kim Min-hyuk. The ball that Kim Min-hyuk turned properly stretched to the right, and the right fielder eventually gave up and the ball crossed the right fence. Two-run shot. It was the moment when LG's scoreless streak ended 21 consecutive innings.

When trailing 0-2, LG put in promising players to gain experience in practice, but the result was not good. Heo Yong-joo allowed No. 8 Yoo Jun-kyu to hit left-handed, and he threw wildly during No. 9 Kang Hyun-woo's at-bat. He allowed walks with one out and runners on the first and second bases. He threw wild pitches again when Oh Jae-il was at bat, and allowed walks with runners on the second and third bases with one out, leading to the bases loaded with one out. Change the pitcher again.

This time, second-round rookie Yoo Hyun-hyun came up. He had a full count match with Kang Min-sung, the first batter, but gave up a walk to push. 0-3. He then gave up another run as Song Min-seop's ordinary infield fly was not played properly by infielders, making it a hit that no one could catch. 0-4.

Yoo Hyun-hyun struck out Kwon Dong-jin, but allowed a walk to Chun Sung-ho, pushing him to 0-5. He struck out Oh Yoon-seok to end the long, long top of the ninth inning.

KT also had Cuevas in the bottom of the ninth inning and had a hit by Park Min-ho after two outs, but struck out Koo Bon-hyuk to end the game.

Starter Oh Won-seok recorded one hit, three walks and four strikeouts in three innings, followed by Heyesus, who had no hit, walked one and five strikeouts in three innings, and Cuevas recorded three hits and four strikeouts in three innings to record a victory against LG.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.