“He created a chance in front of me. I think I was lucky enough to have a chance to load the bases.”
Kang Baek-ho (KT Wiz) played as the sixth designated hitter against SSG Landers of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Sunday, and recorded one hit (one homer) and four RBIs and one run scored in six times at bat. He was the winner of the game.
His performance in the previous three at-bats was not good. He was out with a foul fly on the third base, a grounder to the second base, and strikeout. 메이저놀이터
Kang, however, did not miss the critical opportunity that he found. When KT was trailing 2-3 in the top of the seventh inning, Hwang Jae-gyun’s RBI double balanced the game. Later, Moon walked with no outs, and loaded the bases. Then, Kang stood at the batter’s box.
The SSG dugout also made moves. He lowered Lee Woon and raised Seo. Kang laughed in the match against Seo. Seo’s four-ball, 143 km/h four-seam fastball came in high at the 2B1S. Kang pushed the ball and hit it. The ball went directly over the left fence. It was Kang’s come-from-behind grand slam.
He tasted a home run in 22 days after his home run against the Hanwha Eagles on the 1st.
KT, which brought the atmosphere with Kang Baek-ho’s come-from-behind grand slam, was chased by SSG by allowing two runs in the seventh inning and one run in the eighth inning, but added four more runs in the top of the ninth inning.
After the game, Kang expressed his gratitude to his teammates. On the same day, KT had 18 hits, with Jang Sung-woo and Kim Sang-soo having four hits, and Moon Sang-chul having multiple home runs. Bae Jung-dae, Chun Sung-ho, and Hwang Jae-gyun also had two hits.
Kang said, “I think other players did a better job than me today. (Kim Sang-soo), (Jang) Sung-woo, (Moon) Sang-cheol, and (Bae) Jung-dae gave me a chance to get the bases loaded with luck. I thank my teammates.”
Prior to the game, Kang showed weak performance by posting 16 hits, five RBIs, one walk and a batting average of 0.063 at bat in this season’s grand slam. However, he led his team to victory on the day.
“The bases-loaded batting average is not good this season, but I try to focus on the at-bat and the game rather than paying attention to the record,” he said.
KT’s victory over SSG gave it the 5th place. Kang said, “I want to continue the spirit of victory. This season is just around the corner, and as this series is important to the competition, I want to take the winning position. I hope KT goes to the fall baseball league.”
