Seoul: It wasn't the kind of South Korean debut he had hoped for, but KT Wiz starter Matt Sauer was still glad his team emerged with a win over the defending champions LG Twins on a wild Saturday afternoon. In his Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular-season debut, the American right-hander gave up three runs on five hits and five walks in five innings to earn the victory in the Wiz's 11-7 win over the Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Sauer expressed satisfaction with the team's performance despite his personal challenges on the mound. "It was a good win for the team. Obviously, I didn't have my best stuff, but we got a W," Sauer said afterward. He acknowledged the need to improve his control, stating, "I've got to be better at getting in the strike zone. I just go back to work tomorrow and come back for my next start."
The game saw the Wiz taking an early lead, as they staked Sauer to a 6-0 advantage after the top of the first inning. However, Sauer struggled with control issues, issuing three walks in the bottom half of that frame to load the bases. Despite the pressure, he escaped the inning without allowing a run and managed a clean second inning.
Sauer's challenges continued into the third inning, where he loaded the bases again through a walk and two singles, allowing the Twins to capitalize by scoring twice. Additionally, he conceded a solo home run to Park Dong-won in the fifth inning, though the Wiz maintained a 7-3 lead at that point.
During his 88-pitch performance, Sauer utilized a mix of pitches, including four-seam fastballs, cutters, curveballs, two-seam fastballs, and forkballs. Reflecting on his outing, Sauer remarked, "Honestly, my plan was just get strike one, and I didn't do a good job of that. So then I felt like I just battled and was able to make pitches when I needed to get out of some big spots, especially in that first inning, getting the bases loaded. I made a couple of pitches to get out of that with zero on the scoreboard."
Looking ahead, Sauer is set to pitch in the Wiz's home opener on Friday against the Samsung Lions. Expressing anticipation for the upcoming game, he said, "I'm really excited to pitch back at home in front of our home crowd. It would be amazing. I think the game plan doesn't change throughout the whole year. I think it's just trying to be aggressive, jumping ahead of the count and then hopefully getting weak contact and then (making) my defense work."