KT avenged a previous day’s loss by beating LG in a baseball exhibition game.
KT won 3-2 in an exhibition game against LG on Tuesday at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, South Korea. The two teams are now 1-1 in exhibition games.
KT rookie pitcher Won Sang-hyun started the game and pitched three innings of four-hit ball with five strikeouts and no walks. Moon Sang-chul hit the game-winning hit. For LG, Kim Hyun-soo hit a three-run homer.
LG’s starting lineup was Park Hae-min (designated hitter), Hong Chang-ki (center fielder), Kim Hyun-soo (left fielder), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Moon Bo-kyung (third baseman), Park Dong-won (catcher), Moon Sung-joo (right fielder), Lee Jae-won (first baseman), and Koo Bon-hyuk (second baseman). Austin, who hit a home run the day before, was rested with enteritis. The starting pitcher was Lim Chan-kyu.
For KT, the starting lineup was Choi Jae-dae (center fielder), Kim Min-hyuk (left fielder), Rojas (right fielder), Park Byung-ho (first baseman), Kang Baek-ho (designated hitter), Hwang Jae-gyun (third baseman), Jang Sung-woo (catcher), Chun Sung-ho (second baseman), and Kim Sang-soo (shortstop). The starting pitcher was rookie Won Sang-hyun.
Before the game,
KT manager Lee Kang-cheol said of the rookie pitcher, “We have to see if he can throw strikes or not. He has a good breaking ball. He has a good curveball and a 150-kilometer fastball. It’s not bad, and he’s stabilizing a lot.” Won was a first-round (seventh overall) rookie this year and is considered a top-five pick.
He threw 47 pitches in three innings against champion LG, allowing four hits, two walks, five strikeouts, and no runs. His fastball was shaky early on, but he settled into a rhythm and struck out the side with his curveball. The curveball stood out.
Won gave up a leadoff double to Hong Chang-ki in the first inning. He then threw four pitches in a row to Kim Hyun-soo to put runners on first and second. In the bottom of the inning, Won struck out Oh Hwan with a slider on a two-pitch, two-strike at-bat. With runners on first and second, he walked Moon Bo-kyung on another straight ball. With the bases loaded, he struck out Park Dong-won on a 126-kilometer curveball to end the threat.
In the top of the second, Moon Sung-joo and Lee Jae-won singled to put runners on first and second with no outs. With the bases loaded, Koo struck out Koo Bon-hyeok with a 125-kilometer curveball and then Park Hae-min with a curveball to left field for the second out. With runners on first and second, Hong Chang-ki grounded out to the second baseman to end the threat.
In the top of the third,
Kim Hyun-soo hit a single over the third baseman’s head. Hwang Jae-gyun, the third baseman, quickly caught the ball that rolled into foul territory and threw to second base to tag him out. Oh struck out Oh Ji-hwan on a 124-kilometer curveball, and Moon Bo-kyung struck out Moon on a 124-kilometer curveball.
LG starter Lim Chan-kyu gave up two runs on five hits in three innings. With two outs in the first inning, he gave up a double to Rojas that hit the top of the left field fence, 스포츠토토 but got No. 4 hitter Park Byung-ho to ground out to shortstop.
KT took advantage of Lim Chan-kyu in the second inning. Leadoff hitter Kang Baek-ho singled to left, and Hwang Jae-gyun followed with a double down the left field line to put runners on second and third with no outs. Jang Sung-woo drew a walk to load the bases. Chun Sung-ho grounded to the second baseman to score the go-ahead run from second base.
With runners on first and third, Kim Sang-soo singled to right, scoring the runner from third. 2-0 lead. With runners on first and third, Bae Jae-dae singled to center field to load the bases again. However, Kim Min-hyuk grounded out to short in front of the left fielder, and Rojas grounded out to third to end the threat.
In the top of the third,
Park Byung-ho doubled down the left-field line to load the bases, but Kang Baek-ho flied out to center, Hwang Jae-gyun flied out to left, and Jang Sung-woo flied out to left.
In the fourth inning, KT brought in pitcher Kim Min-soo for the second time. Kim pitched a perfect fourth and fifth inning. He got Park Dong-won to ground out to first base, Moon Sung-joo to ground out to second base, and Lee Jae-won to fly out to center field. The fifth inning ended cleanly with three infield grounders. Koo Bon-hyeok grounded out to third, Park Hae-min grounded out to second, and Hong Chang-ki grounded out to first to end the inning.
In the top of the fifth inning against LG pitcher Kim Yoo-young, Park Byung-ho hit a double down the left-field line. He was replaced at second base by Moon Sang-chul. Kang Baek-ho then drew a walk to load the bases. However, with runners on first and second, Hwang Jae-gyun struck out swinging on an outside slider on a full count. With runners on the corners, Moon Sang-chul was tagged out at third base on a throw from catcher Park Dong-won.
LG fought back in the sixth inning. KT brought in Kim Min-soo as the third pitcher. On the second strike, leadoff hitter Kim Hyun-soo took Kim’s 127-kilometer curveball for a solo home run over the right field wall. He got a good grip on a curveball that fell toward his body.
LG tied the game in the seventh inning.
Moon Sung-joo led off with a single up the middle and was replaced by Choi Won-young, who was pinch-hitting. Choi then stole second base. It was his second consecutive stolen base after the previous day. Lee Jae-won struck out and Koo Bon-hyuk grounded out to shortstop to put runners at second and third. Park Hae-min tied the game at 2-2 with an infield single that hit the pitcher’s glove and rolled between the first and second basemen.
KT struck again in the bottom of the seventh. After one out against LG pitcher Choi Dong-hwan, Ahn Chi-young singled to left. Jung Jun-young singled to straightaway left field to put runners on the corners. Moon advanced to second on a wild pitch. Moon then hit a grounder that cleared the third-base line, scoring pinch runner Ahn Chi-young to regain the lead at 3-2.
Veteran Woo Kyu-min, who joined KT from Samsung in the second round of the draft held last November, pitched the eighth inning. He ended the inning with a KKK. He struck out Kim Min-soo on a four-pitch slider and Kim Joo-sung on a four-pitch fastball. He then faced Choi Seung-min and struck him out swinging with a 118-kilometer slow curveball after an 11-pitch battle.
LG pitcher Park Myung-geun came on in the bottom of the eighth and struck out the side in order. He got Kim Jun-tae to fly out to shortstop, Lee Ho-yeon to strike out, and Jang Jun-won to foul out to first base to end the inning.
With KT leading 3-2, Kang-geon came on in the ninth inning. Kang walked the leadoff batter, Kim Sung-woo, but struck out Choi Won-young. With the bases loaded, he struck out Lee Jae-won. He struck out Koo Bon-hyuk to preserve the win.