KT Wiz overpowered the Lotte Giants with Cho Hyung-joon’s surprise pitching, who recently returned from rehabilitation.
KT won 5-1 in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League home game against Lotte at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 24th.
With the victory, KT recovered its winning percentage to 70 wins, 70 losses and two draws to secure its fifth place. It has widened its gap versus sixth-ranked SSG Landers to one game. Now, KT has two more games to play, and SSG has four more. If KT wins the remaining two games and SSG has less than three wins and one loss in the remaining four games, KT will advance to the wild card game by ranking fifth. On the other hand, Lotte (63 wins, 72 losses and four draws) confirmed its failure to advance to the postseason due to the loss. Lotte has not been invited to the fall baseball festival for seven consecutive years since 2018.
KT gained the upper hand by scoring the first run in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, Kim Min-hyuk got on base with a triple to right and then hit home when Rojas hit a timely hit to left.
Then, Lotte recovered a point in the top of the fifth inning and brought the game to square one. Reyes, who was placed at the second batter’s box with two outs, advanced to second base after taking the first base due to an error at the center field catch. Ko Seung-min followed with a walk. Son Ho-young then hit a timely hit off KT starter Um Sang-baek that fell inside the left field line.
Lotte’s continued attack in the top of the sixth inning. Instead of taking out Eom Sang-baek, who threw 88 pitches, KT added Kim Min-soo. Then, in the seventh inning when the two teams were still tying at 1-1, KT placed its third pitcher So Hyung-joon on the mound. So Hyung-joon struck out leadoff hitter Seo Dong-wook by swinging and hitting Hwang Seong-bin and Reyes with a grounder to the third base and a grounder to the first base, respectively, and ended the inning with a complete walkout.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, KT scored four runs to decide the winner. Lotte’s pitcher changed from Kim Sang-soo to Han Hyun-hee. Oh Yoon-seok, the leadoff hitter, hit a double that fell inside the left-field line and scored when Kang made a timely hit to the right. Kang was substituted by pinch runner Song Min-seop. Song settled on the second base due to Shim Woo-joon’s sacrifice bunt, and Kim Min-hyuk’s timely hit to the right-center gap, leading to a 3-1 victory. KT’s Rojas only hit a fly ball to the second base, but Jang Sung-woo drew a two-run arch to the left against the changed pitcher Na Kyun-an to seal the victory.
Taking the mound in the eighth inning as well, Cho grounded out Ko Seung-min, the leadoff hitter, Son Ho-young, the shortstop, and Na Seung-yeop, the first baseman, respectively, showing off his powerful pitching. Cho displayed his unique ball control and speed control ability that penetrated every corner. Finally, KT added “Closer” Park Young-hyun to the ninth inning to secure a four-run victory.
KT starter Um Sang-baek pitched well in five innings (a total of 88 pitches) with five hits, one walk, and one run (non-earned) with three strikeouts and one run (non-earned), but failed to win. Subsequently, Cho Hyung-joon, who pitched two perfect innings after Kim Min-soo was responsible for one scoreless inning, became the winning pitcher. Cho Hyung-joon, a national pitcher who underwent elbow ligament joint surgery (Tommy John Surgery) in May last year, returned to the game against NC on the 12th.
In addition, Cho secured his second win of the season after winning the match against Samsung on Wednesday. During the five games, his ERA was 1.29.7 innings, five hits (one homer), one walk, three strikeouts and one run (one earned run), WHIP (on-base allowed per inning) 0.86 and a batting average of 0.227. If this continues, if KT joins the fall baseball league, it will likely draw keen attention to whether Cho will use the team. He can display powerful power along with existing mound resources and become a surprise key player. In addition, leadoff Kim Min-hyuk played an active role with three hits in the 11-hit lineup on the day, while Jang Sung-woo and Oh Yoon-seok played multi-hits.
On the other hand, Lotte starter Kim Jin-wook allowed seven hits, no four outs, six strikeouts and one run (one earned run) in four ⅓ innings (82 pitches), but failed to become a winning pitcher again. While Kim Sang-soo performed his part by allowing no runs in one ⅔, the third pitcher Han Hyun-hee allowed one hit and one run (one earned) in nine innings, putting the third pitcher at a loss. It was his third loss (four wins) this season. Chung Hyeon-su (two runs in ⅔ innings) and Na Kyun-an (one run in ⅓ innings) pitched in succession. The batters had only five scattered hits, with Jeon Joon-woo recording multiple hits.
After taking a two-day break on May 25 and 26, KT will conclude its regular season schedule with two consecutive home games against the Kiwoom Heroes on May 27 and 28. Will KT be able to join the fall baseball league by winning a fierce competition between the two teams. 스포츠토토
