Park Byung-ho-Alford woke up… KT WIZ needs a must-win revival

KT WIZ lost 7-8 at home against the LG Twins in the third game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Postseason Korean Series (best-of-seven) at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, at 6:30 p.m. on April 10.

The game was an epic battle. The two teams battled back and forth and were neck-and-neck until the middle of the game.

LG was down 3-4 in the top of the sixth inning when Park Dong-won hit a two-run homer to make it 5-4. However, in the bottom of the eighth inning, Go Woo-seok hit an RBI single off Hwang Jae-gyun to tie the game, followed by Park Byung-ho’s dramatic double to left field to give KT WIZ a 7-5 lead.

However, in the top of the ninth, closer Kim Jae-yoon gave up a game-winning three-run homer to Oh Ji-hwan with one out. Unable to overcome the shock, KT WIZ lost the game 7-8 in the bottom of the ninth when Kim Sang-soo walked with the bases loaded.

Despite losing the game by one run, there was a silver lining. Park Byung-ho and Alford, who were both hitless in the Korean Series before this game, woke up. Alford signaled his return to form with a single to left-center in the fourth inning and a double to right-center in the fifth.

Park’s resurgence was even more dramatic. After a lucky hit to right field against Jung Woo-young in the fifth inning, Park hit a low pitch from Ko Woo-seok in the eighth inning with his signature swing for a two-run shot to left field. Although the team lost the game, Byung-ho Park’s resurgence is expected to give KT WIZ a big boost for the rest of the Korean Series.

The problem is the shaky pitching staff. KT WIZ’s starting pitcher Son Dong-hyun (0 innings, 1 run) gave up a home run to Park Dong-won, and closer Kim Jae-yoon (1 inning, 3 runs) gave up a shocking three-run homer to Oh Ji-hwan.

Game 2 was no different. KT WIZ, which was leading 4-3 at the time, fell apart in the bottom of the eighth inning when Park Young-hyun hit a two-run shot to left field off Park Dong-won. Following the second game, KT WIZ suffered a shocking upset in the third game as their bullpen faltered.

In the playoffs against the NC Dinos, KT Wiz had already used up a lot of bullpen pitchers. Playoff series MVP Son Dong-hyun appeared in all five games of the playoffs and threw seven scoreless innings. Park Young-hyun also pitched five innings in four games. 무지개토토 도메인

The aftermath is slowly being felt in the Korean Series. After Game 2, Lee Kang-chul said of Son Dong-hyun and Park Young-hyun, “They looked a little tired, so I quickly replaced them, but the results were not good. I think they’ll be fine after a day’s rest.” However, even after the break, Son Dong-hyun couldn’t find his groove and faltered.