SEOUL– Thanks to enviable depth in his rotation, KT Wiz manager Lee Kang-chul had the luxury of turning one of his five starters into a key relief option for the Korean Series.
Ko Young-pyo, a right-handed sidearmer who enjoyed a career year as a starter in 2021, will be awaiting his call in the bullpen throughout the South Korean baseball championship series.
The Wiz didn’t have to rely on Ko to defeat the Doosan Bears 4-2 in Sunday’s Game 1 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, as starter William Cuevas held the opponents to a run over 7 2/3 innings. But Ko, who went 11-6 with a 2.92 ERA in the regular season, will definitely be needed at some point in the best-of-seven set.
In a pregame interview before Game 2 on Monday, Lee stressed the importance of finding the right moment to send Ko into the game.
“When we summon Ko Young-pyo from the bullpen, it will be a game that we absolutely have to win,” Lee said. “We can’t afford to have him out there every game. So we have to pick our spots and use him at the right moment.”
Ko had been a full-time reliever in his first two Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) seasons in 2015 and 2016. After serving in the military the past two seasons, Ko has finally put it all together this year at age 30, and now holds the key in the Wiz’s drive for the franchise’s first Korean Series title.
They picked up their inaugural Korean Series win on Sunday, and Lee admitted he was “a bit too excited about that victory.”
“I need to calm myself down and prepare for the rest of the series,” the manager added.
For Monday, Lee will field the identical lineup from Game 2, clearly not fixing what’s not broken. Bae Jung-dae, who hit a tiebreaking solo shot from the No. 7 spot, will stay there.
But the Bears’ manager Kim Tae-hyoung juggled his batting order for Game 2.
First baseman Yang Suk-hwan, batting only .194 (7-for-36) in eight postseason games, went down from fifth to sixth in the lineup. Kang Seung-ho, who had two hits from the No. 8 spot in Game 1 and is batting .400 (12-for-30) this month, will bat second on Monday.
Then after the starting lineup was announced, center fielder and leadoff man Jung Soo-bin was ruled out with a wrist injury, which he sustained on a diving grab during Game 1. Kim In-tae will take over at center field and bat eighth. Heo Kyoung-min will go from sixth to leadoff spot.
They will face second-year starter So Hyeong-jun, who went 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA against the Bears in the regular season.
“Our players know how So Hyeong-jun will pitch to them, and they’ll have to put (regular season history) out of their minds,” Kim said. “We just have to start hitting batter. And the No. 2 spot is key for us. No matter who ends up there, we need production from that place in the lineup.”
In 38 previous Korean Series, teams that won the first two games have gone on to capture the title 17 out of 19 times.
Source: Yonhap News Agency