SEOUL– The KT Wiz squeezed past the Kiwoom Heroes 2-0 on Monday to even their postseason series in South Korean baseball at one game apiece, behind excellent starting pitching and timely, early offense.
KT starter Wes Benjamin twirled a seven-inning gem, striking out nine and holding the Heroes to just five hits in Game 2 of the first round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason. The Wiz scored twice in the top of the first and made the lead stand
Game 3 of the best-of-five series will be at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, 35 kilometers south of Seoul.
The Wiz jumped on Kiwoom starter Eric Jokisch for two runs in the top of the first — one more run than they’d scored off the American left-hander in 20 1/3 innings during the regular season.
After a single and a walk put two men aboard, cleanup Park Byung-ho knocked in the game’s first run with a single to center. Two batters later, Kang Baek-ho slapped a single to left field to double the Wiz’s lead.
“Getting those two runs in the first inning was huge,” KT manager Lee Kang-chul said. “Because of our starting pitching depth, I felt we would have a chance in Games 3 and 4 if we could take tonight’s game.”
The Wiz let a couple of scoring opportunities slip by, with Hwang Jae-gyun bouncing into an inning-ending double play in the second after two straight singles, and Bae Jung-dae striking out to strand a runner at third base in the fourth.
While Jokisch was laboring his way through, Benjamin was cruising along. He didn’t give up a hit until one out in the fourth, when Lee Jung-hoo finally broke the ice for the Heroes with a single.
With that hit, Lee set a record for the longest hitting streak in KBO postseason history with 15 games.
Kim Hye-seong then chopped a comebacker to the mound, and Benjamin, trying to make a backhand grab, instead had the ball go off his glove for an infield single.
Benjamin went to his most effective pitch of the day, the slider, to wiggle out of that jam, as he struck out Yasiel Puig and Kim Tae-jin swinging on that pitch.
Benjamin got some help from his defense, too, not that he needed much of it. Left fielder Anthony Alford made an outstanding leaping grab while crashing into the fence to end the bottom fifth, robbing Song Sung-mun of an extra-base hit with the top of the Heroes order coming up.
The Heroes had two straight singles with two outs in the seventh. Song, who drove in the winning run in Game 1, didn’t quite have the same magic in this one, as he chopped one to shortstop for the inning’s final out.
Kiwoom manager Hong Won-ki said the lineup that pounded out 12 hits Sunday had no answer against Benjamin.
“Benjamin was on his game today, and we barely had any chances against him,” Hong said. “We had some borderline pitches go against us, but that’s part of the game.”
KT reliever Park Yeong-hyun retired the side in the eighth on seven pitches and pitched a clean ninth inning to become the youngest pitcher to record a postseason save in the KBO at 19 years and six days old.
Though Park is playing in his first postseason — he made a brief appearance in Sunday’s loss — manager Lee Kang-chul saw enough in the teenager to send him back out for the ninth.
“He was the one reliever that I could trust the most today,” Lee said. “He has been in his share of tight games, and he throws a lot of strikes. I’d like to thank him for pitching a great game.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency