Seoul: The Kiwoom Heroes celebrated a notable victory as they secured their season-high fourth consecutive win by sweeping the SSG Landers. Catcher Kim Gun-hee was the standout performer, hitting his first career grand slam, which supported an outstanding start by right-hander Raul Alcantara. Alcantara delivered eight shutout innings, leading the Heroes to a 6-0 triumph at Gocheok Sky Dome.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Heroes completed a three-game sweep of the Landers in their midweek series, extending their winning streak to four games, a season-best. The Heroes improved their record to 19-26-1 (wins-losses-ties), moving out of the last place. The NC Dinos fell to the bottom following a 1-0 loss to the Doosan Bears, which dropped their record to 18-25-1. The Landers, now on a four-game losing streak, fell to 22-22-1.
In the game, the Heroes initially missed opportunities to score in the first two innings against Landers' starter Ginjiro Hiramoto. However, Kim Gun-hee capitalized in the third inning with a grand slam to center field after Hiramoto loaded the bases with two singles and a walk. Kim, facing a 1-2 count, struck a slider over the middle of the plate, sending it 130 meters for the grand slam.
Alcantara's performance was pivotal, as he was perfect through the first 4 1/3 innings. He managed to navigate around a double and a single in the fifth, and despite walking the first batter in the seventh, he retired the next three hitters consecutively. The Heroes extended their lead in the seventh inning with RBI singles by An Chi-hong and Lee Hyung-jong, making it 6-0.
Alcantara continued to dominate into the eighth inning, with his pitch count at 96, before reliever Kim Jae-ung stepped in to close the game with a scoreless ninth inning. Alcantara's effective mix of four-seam fastballs, forkballs, and sliders left the Landers' hitters struggling, with Alcantara striking out eight batters in total.
Pitching in front of his family, Alcantara expressed that it helped him maintain focus. "We wanted to complete the sweep of the Landers," he stated. "I like being aggressive on the mound. Honestly, I didn't feel great after waking up in the morning but I felt better and better with each inning. It would have been nice to throw a complete game but I am just happy to have thrown a lot of innings for the team."