KT Wiz snapped a four-game losing streak.
KT won 4-2 on the road against the Kiwoom Heroes of the 2023 KBO League at the Gocheok SkyDome in Seoul on Nov. 11. Kiwoom ace Ahn Woo-jin drove in two runs while on the mound, and Lee Ho-yeon, who recently returned from injury, hit a wedge hit off the bullpen.
The win snapped a four-game losing streak for KT, which began on April 6 against the LG Twins. The offense struggled in a three-game weekend series against the KIA Tigers on July 7-9, totaling just three runs. However, they did manage to shut down one of the league’s top pitchers. KT starting pitcher Wes Benjamin pitched a career-high seven and two-thirds innings at a critical time.
KT improved to 37 wins (1 tie, 41 losses) on the season. They improved their winning percentage to .461 and closed the gap on seventh-place Kiwoom.
KT got off to a slow start against Ahn Woo-jin. They scored a run in the first inning on back-to-back hits by Kim Min-hyuk and Kim Sang-soo and a sacrifice fly by Anthony Alford, but struck out 11 times in the next six innings.
But in the top of the seventh, with the score tied 1-1, they got back on track. Park Byung-ho led off with a single to left and Jang Jang-woo followed with a walk. Hwang Jae-gyun drew a walk from Ahn Woo-jin.
This brought Lee Ho-yeon to the plate. In his previous two at-bats, he had struck out against Ahn Woo-jin. However, he proved why he is expected to be a rising star. After striking out against a changeup (twice) and a four-seam fastball (five times), respectively, Lee took a 153 km/h four-seam fastball in the seventh and lined it cleanly to left field. Pinch-hitter Park Byung-ho came home.
Kiwoom removed Ahn Woo-jin from the mound. Moon Sang-chul singled against reliever Yang Hyun, and Choi Seong-ho, playing center field, hit a clean single to center to load the bases. 4-1, 메이저토토사이트 three-run lead. Ahn Woo-jin’s run total increased to four.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, KT starter Benjamin got himself into trouble with a wild pitch after an infield single, then gave up a walk to Lee Jung-hoo and a double to Lim Ji-yeol in left field. However, he continued to pitch brilliantly. The bottom of the order was completely shut down and didn’t allow back-to-back hits.
They couldn’t get over the final hurdle. In the top of the eighth, with KT leading 4-1, Lee Hyung-jong doubled to left and Kim Hye-sung singled to center. The KT bench gave him a chance to finish the inning. Benjamin was hit by a pitch to Lee Jung-hoo. The game was over.
Park Young-hyun took the mound for KT and gave up a walk to Lim Ji-yeol, but struck out pinch-hitter Kim Woong-bin to preserve the lead. In the ninth inning, closer Kim Jae-yoon took the mound and pitched a scoreless inning. KT ended the losing streak.