Sorcerer Corps KT’s August “Magic Bat” is hot.
KT won their fifth consecutive game with a 8-17 victory over Doosan in the visiting professional baseball game held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 9th.
KT, who started the game one game behind second-place SSG, had a win-loss margin of +8 (5 wins, 2 draws, 1 losses) with the victory on the day.
On the contrary
SSG lost to Lotte in the resignation on the day
resulting in 11 wins, 56 draw, and 2 losses, which also resulted in a win-loss margin of +45.
In terms of win rate
KT (55.1) is 44.11 behind SSG (0.554), but the win is zero.
Depending on the outcome of the game on the 18th
KT may move up to second place.
On the other hand
Doosan
which was ranked fifth until the previous day
fell to seventh place in the standings due to the defeat on the day.
The driving force behind KT’s win-loss margin from -6 (2 wins, 14 draws, 16 losses) to +2 by June 30 is the ‘starters’.
Since June 11 지울프-토토
KT’s ERA has been 6.3
which is not a small difference compared to second-place Samsung (3.19) during the same period.
Of the 2 wins in the 3 games played in August
94 have been starts.
Even in the NC game against Anbang on the 8th
where the starting pitcher was the only one who did not record a victory
KT starter Ko Young-pyo (14) scored three runs in the seventh inning to record a “quality start+”.
One concern was that Benjamin
12, the No. 11 starter
hadn’t added a win since August.
Benjamin was sluggish on the day
allowing four runs in five innings
but he was able to earn his first win of August and his 12th win of the season thanks to a seven-run batter in the fifth inning.
It was catcher Jang Sung-woo (8) who gifted Benjamin his first win in August.
Jang Sung-woo came on as the No. 33 batter on the day and led the team in batting with four hits and five RBIs
including a three-run home run in the first inning.
Jang Sung-woo said
Benjamin was unbeaten as he won eight games in a row until July.
I’ve been doing well all this time
so I think it’s getting worse now.
It’s hard for anybody to do well all year.”
He continued
When Benjamin was bad
I wanted the hitters to score some points and throw it comfortably
but I was happy to finish the fifth inning.
Benjamin is the ace of the team that has given him faith all along.
I think it’s going to get better.”
Doosan, who was mired in a four-game losing streak
held KT with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
After a solo shot by Rojas (4) and a timely hit by Kim In-tae (1)
Doosan chased down the score at 3-5 when pinch-hitter Park Jun-young (4) hit a timely hit to left-center with runners on first and second base.
However, KT decided the game on thin ice when Park Young-hyun (5) caught the next batter
Heo Kyung-min (7)
with a shallow ball to center field
and then turned Cho Ji-sung (8) into a strikeout after a full count.
Jang Sung-woo said
I felt comfortable when I was on second and third base with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning.
We were on a four-game winning streak and Doosan was on a four-game losing streak.
During a losing streak
it’s really hard to break a losing streak
whereas when you’re on a winning streak
the game tends to go a little better.”
He then said
Normally
I would have walked Heo Kyung-min (with the 9th ball).
Usually
in such a situation
the director also asks for a deliberate 1-ball doctor
but he didn’t do that today
and I thought I could strangely stop it.
I didn’t think I was going to lose
he continued.
Even the players say
I don’t know what’s going on from -2 to +3
Jang said.
Even the director says
It’s like a dream.
But we’re focused on playing day by day
whether we were -4 or now.”
It’s been a long time since I’ve been doing well
so maybe it’s going to get worse at some point
but if I stay focused on every game the same way
I think I can finish (the season) on a high note.
Lotte, who announced that they would go all-in in the second half of the season with the goal of advancing to the “Fall Baseball
defeated SSG 20-15 in the resignation home game
scoring 4 hits, the most of the team, in a season-high game.
With the victory
Lotte swept three games in midweek and won four in a row.
It has been 3 days since June 4~2018, 6 that Lotte won a “sweep” against SSG.
Lotte had a dizzy condition before the game when Coach Sutton showed symptoms of dizziness before the game
so head coach Lee Jong-woon took over as acting head coach.
Veteran Jeon Joon-woo (15) took center stage in the batting line with 17-for-1887 hits and 37 RBIs
while Yoo Gang-nam (4)
who returned after a three-week absence since the 4th of last month due to a side injury
came on as the No. 2 hitter and went 28-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
Lotte finished in sixth place
31.3 games behind KIA
who finished fifth after finishing at the bottom of the standings in Gwangju on the day.
The Changwon match between Hanwha and NC
which drew attention due to the starting debut of super rookie Kim Seo-hyun (19, Hanwha)
ended in a 9-10 defeat for Hanwha.
Kim Seo-hyun came off the mound after two innings and three runs
giving up four runs in the bottom of the second inning alone.
NC trailed 2-2 until the bottom of the ninth inning
but Son Ah-sub (3) hit a two-run home run to tie the game and then secured the victory in the bottom of the 9th inning when Kim so-yoon (7) hit his first walk-off hit in his debut.
Leading LG lost 9-35 in Daegu after being held to one run in 2 and 10/25 innings by Samsung starter Baek Jung-hyun (36). Samsung finisher Oh Seung-hwan (6) made 3 saves.