KT Wiz swept the first game of a doubleheader against the Hanwha Eagles.
KT Wiz swept the first game of their 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League doubleheader against the Hanwha Eagles at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon at 2 p.m. on Sunday, winning 7-0. The win keeps KT in second place in the league with a record of 68 wins, 54 losses, and three draws. Hanwha, meanwhile, remained in eighth place with 50 wins, 65 losses, and six draws. Hanwha has lost three straight games.
The game was a pitcher’s duel, with the difference being the pitch count. By the fifth inning, Hanwha’s Sanchez had thrown 101 pitches. On the other hand, KT’s Cuevas had only thrown 66 pitches. As a result, while Cuevas pitched a no-hitter, Sanchez gave up three runs, including one big hit. In the end, KT had the last laugh as their bats came through at crucial moments.
KT scored the first run in the first inning to take control of the game. In the first inning, Hwang Jae-gyun led off with a double to right-center and came home on Kang Baek-ho’s single up the middle. Then, in the fourth inning, they made it 3-0 with a big one. After leadoff hitter Park Byung-ho singled to left-center, Alford stepped up to the plate. Alford then hit a two-run shot over the left field wall off Sanchez (3-0).
Cuevas, on the other hand, pitched a scoreless fifth inning before Sanchez took the mound. Hanwha began to utilize its bullpen in the sixth inning, bringing in Jang Si-hwan.
KT added a run in the seventh inning to put the game out of reach. Hanwha switched pitchers from Jang to Yoon Dae-kyung. Two batters later, Park Byung-ho singled to left and Alford followed with an infield single to the second baseman to put runners on first and second. The next batter was Oh Yoon-seok. Here, KT also pulled out the pinch-hitter card. Pinch-hitter Lee Ho-yeon came in. On a 1-1 pitch count, Lee took advantage of a three-pitch at-bat and smashed a two-run double to left-center field.(5-0) This was the moment when Lee’s pinch-hitting plan paid off.
KT brought up Lee Sang-dong in the bottom of the eighth after Kuevers went down. Lee worked a triple play to retire Hanwha’s fourth, fifth, and sixth batters in order. And in the top of the ninth. KT hit another big one. This time, it was an exciting batting order. Hanwha brought up their fourth pitcher, Kim Jae-young, after Nam Ji-min. KT’s pinch hitter Choi Sung-ho and subsequent pinch hitter Kang Baek-ho followed with back-to-back singles, but Park Kyung-soo singled to put runners on second and third.토토사이트
Here, KT used another pinch-hitter. Kim Jun-tae was brought in. And this time, it worked. Kim took advantage of a 1-2 pitch count against Kim Jae-young and launched a four-pitch fastball over the center field fence for a two-run shot. The score was 7-0. The pinch-hit home run was Kim’s 27th of the season, the 1028th of his KBO career, and the second pinch-hit home run of his career. KT ended the game in the bottom of the ninth inning with Lee Sang-dong on the mound.
Cuevas pitched seven innings (94 pitches), allowing one run on seven hits with five strikeouts and two walks to earn his ninth win of the season. Cuevas, who joined KT as a midseason substitute, has yet to lose a game this season. Lee Sang-dong followed with two innings of scoreless relief, striking out three without allowing a single hit. For the offense, which totaled 14 hits, Park Byung-ho had three hits and Kang Baek-ho, Alford, and Kim Sang-soo had two hits.
On the other hand, Hanwha starter Sanchez took the loss, allowing six hits (one home run), one walk, one hit-by-pitch, and three runs (three earned) in five innings (101 pitches). Sanchez improved to 6-6. The offense scattered seven hits.