KT Wiz coach Lee Kang-chul's temperament as an adventurer worked. He changed the "must-win formula" to win the first round of the Korean Series (KS, four wins out of seven).
KT beat the LG Twins 3-2 in Game 1 of the KS at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 7th. It is a four-game winning streak in the postseason from Game 3 of the last playoff (PO) and a five-game winning streak in KS after four wins and no losses in 2021.
LG, which was the strongest lineup in this year's regular season, was tied with only two points. It was clearly a victory for the mound. KT starter Ko Young-pyo's two runs (one earned run) in six innings shone, and the bullpen consumed only two.
In particular, the use of the back door was unusual. Initially, KT's must-win formula was Son Dong-hyun in the seventh inning, Park Young-hyun in the eighth inning, and Kim Jae-yoon in the ninth inning, but Kim Jae-yoon was not used. Instead, Son Dong-hyun was in charge of two innings. In the bottom of the seventh inning, when LG attacked, Lee Kang-chul let the second batter Park Hae-min to Kim Hyun-soo and Austin Dean go. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Oh Ji-hwan, Moon Bo-kyung, and Park Dong-won were all caught. 22 pitches in two innings. The pitch was so good that 10 out of 11 pitches in the seventh inning were strikes. I confirmed why I won the last PO Series MVP (best player).
Son was followed by Park Young-hyun. Park Young-hyun won the hold king with 32 holds this season, but Kim Jae-yoon ranked second in saves (32) in the ninth inning of the season. However, coach Lee Kang-chul saved Kim Jae-yoon and finished with Park Young-hyun. He judged that his ball power was higher. And Park Young-hyun finished the game neatly by spraying a fastball in the late 140km/h. Lee Kang-chul's winning move worked
Coach Lee Kang-chul said after the game, "I think Son Dong-hyun gave me a chance to turn it over at the end by blocking two innings," adding, "I tried to make it fit in the batting order from the beginning." "I told the pitchers that I would play without a specific finish," he explained. This means that Park Young-hyun judged it to be the best to face six batters starting from Park Hae-min.
I wrote Park Young-hyun for a long time. Coach Lee Kang-chul said, "I thought about extending today's game until the 11th inning, and I left (Kim) Jae-yoon. Park Young-hyun warmed up first and put Young-hyun in the ninth inning, he said.
Usually in fall baseball, the formula loses its meaning. So, head coaches who have experienced fall baseball for a long time believe in the best bullpen pitcher during the game and take the flow longer. Before the game, Lee Kang-chul smiled broadly at the reporters' remarks that he was a veteran, saying, "It's only been five years." However, it has already been going through the postseason for four consecutive years since 2020. There are also three series wins. I get cold-headed as the years go by.
