SEOUL– Right-hander Bae Je-seong will look to pitch the KT Wiz to the very first Korean Series title in franchise history on Thursday.
The Wiz defeated the Doosan Bears 3-1 on Wednesday at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul and opened up a 3-0 series lead. They can close out the best-of-seven series Thursday, back at the dome.
Bae, 25, will be making his first Korean Series start. He went 9-10 with a career-low 3.68 ERA during the regular season.
Against the Bears, Bae was 0-2 with a 4.96 ERA in three starts. He struck out 14 and walked 13 in 16 1/3 innings.
Park Kun-woo had the best numbers against Bae, going 4-for-7 with a double and two walks. But Park, as has been the case in six previous Korean Series, has been scuffling at the plate so far. He’s batting only 1-for-11 in three games, and that one hit came in Wednesday’s loss.
Heo Kyoung-min and Park Gye-beom each had three hits against Bae, who didn’t surrender any home run against the Bears.
Bae has a tough act to follow. The first three starters for the Wiz in this series, William Cuevas, So Hyeong-jun and Odrisamer Despaigne, all won their games, while giving up just one run in 19 1/3 combined innings.
The Bears will counter with right-hander Gwak Been starting on three days’ rest, trying to keep their season alive. He took a no-decision in his Game 1 start on Sunday, when he allowed one run — unearned — on three hits in five innings while making 67 pitches. It was his first career Korean Series start.
Gwak was struck in the right thigh by a line drive but looked none the worse for the wear.
That Gwak is starting on short rest in such a crucial game tells you all you need to know about the state of starting pitching for the Bears.
They’ve lost American starter Walker Lockett for the season with an elbow injury. Cuban left-hander Ariel Miranda had missed the entire postseason before starting Wednesday’s game, though his five innings of one-run ball may prove to be too little, too late.
“We won’t have him out there for too long, but we’ll see how he handles some early innings,” Doosan manager Kim Tae-hyoung said. “We’ll have relievers ready to come in on short notice.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency