'Strength of 3 consecutive wins after 2 losses'

 

KT Wiz advances to the Korean Series for the first time in two years and attempts to win its second championship.

KT defeated NC Dinos 3-2 in the final 5th game of the professional baseball playoffs (PO) held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do on the 5th and won a ticket to Jamsil with a series record of 3 wins and 2 losses. KT, which was pushed to the brink by losing the first and second games of the PO, showed off its potential to advance to the Korean Series with a 'reverse sweep' of three consecutive wins.

KT is the third team to advance to the Korean Series with 3 consecutive wins after 2 losses in the PO, which was a 5-game, 3-win system, following the Hyundai Unicorns in 1996 and the SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers) in 2009.

KT will compete for supremacy in the Korean Series with 4 wins out of 7 starting on the 7th with the LG Twins, who advanced directly to the Korean Series for the first time in 29 years by taking first place in the regular league.

KT, which achieved a combined championship in the regular league and Korean Series in 2021, aims to climb to the top again after two years. LG dreams of winning for the first time in 29 years since 1994 and for the third time in total. The first game between the two teams will be held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul at 6:30 pm on the 7th.

NC, which advanced to the postseason in 4th place in the regular league, passed the wild card match (Doosan) and semi-playoff (SSG) without hesitation, and was on the verge of the Korean Series with 2 consecutive wins in PO, but suffered 3 consecutive losses on its way to the championship. closed.

NC (9th team) and KT (10th team), who faced each other for the first time in the postseason as the youngest members of the KBO League, turned up the PO excitement with a close game in which they traded 2 wins each, and even in the final game, they had a nail-biting battle with a forward and a retreat.

NC took the lead thanks to a series of errors by KT shortstop Kim Sang-soo. In the top of the third inning, with one out and no runner on base, Kim Sang-soo rushed forward to catch Kim Hyeong-jun's ground ball, but was unable to catch it in his glove and sent it to the outfield. With one out and one on first base, he failed to properly hit Kim Joo-won's slow ground ball bounce and let the ball go backwards again.

NC first scored 1 point with Seo Ho-cheol's sacrifice fly to center field with the bases loaded and 1 out following Son Ah-seop's left-field hit.

NC ran away with a 2-0 lead in the 5th inning thanks to a double that hit the right-field fence from leader Kim Hyeong-jun and a right-handed hit by Son Ah-seop with the bases loaded and one out on Kim Joo-won's fly ball.

From the start of the game, KT, who had been tied up with 13 batters unable to get a hit or a walk from NC Shin Min-hyuk until the 5th inning with 1 out, completely changed the flow with a double from 5th batter Jang Seong-woo. When Jang Seong-woo broke Shin Min-hyuk's perfect streak with a double that fell to the first base, cheers erupted from the KT cheering section at first base.

Immediately after, Moon Sang-cheol advanced to first and third base with a single to left. KT manager Lee Kang-cheol appointed left-handed hitter Kim Min-hyuk, who was left out of the starting lineup due to thigh muscle pain, as a pinch hitter in place of No. 7 Oh Yoon-seok. Kim Min-hyuk immediately tied the game with a 2-run, 2-run double that hit Shin Min-hyuk's body and hit a flat ball inside the first box in a 3-ball, 2-strike match.

Following the semi-playoffs (5⅔ innings) and the second game of the playoffs (6⅓ innings), Shin Min-hyuk, who had been on a scoreless streak of 16⅓ innings until one out in the 5th inning, gave up the tying run and passed the baton to left-hander Kim Young-gyu.

KT, who brought the game back to square one, scored the winning run in the bottom of the 6th inning. Leader Kim Sang-soo hit a right-handed hit, and No. 2 Hwang Jae-gyun hit a right-handed hit from NC's third pitcher Ryu Jin-wook. With the bases loaded and no outs following Anthony Alford's walk, Kim Sang-soo homered when Park Byeong-ho hit a double play at shortstop.

KT began to solidify the 1-point lead with a powerful bullpen. Son Dong-hyun, who took the mound twice as a pitcher following starting pitcher Wes Benjamin in the 6th inning with no outs on first base, pitched 2 innings without allowing a run with his strong power, while Park Young-hyun took the mound in the 8th inning and NC's 3rd to 5th batters Park Min-woo, Park Geon-woo, and Kwon Hee Dong was turned around with a ground ball to second base, a fly ball to right field, and a strikeout, respectively.

Closer Kim Jae-yoon took the mound in the 9th inning, hit three batters, and marked the finale of the playoffs.

KT Son Dong-hyun, who pitched in all 5 PO games, pitched 7 innings, and left an outstanding record of 1 win, 1 hold, and an ERA of 0, swept 39 out of 71 votes (55% of the votes) in the Baseball Writers' Association vote and was named PO Most Valuable Player (MVP). He was selected and received a prize of 3 million won.

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