Who will take the third game, which will be a watershed in the series between the LG Twins and the KT Wiz.
LG led by manager Yeom Kyung-yeop and KT led by manager Lee Kang-chul will have the third game of the 2024 KBO postseason semi-playoff (best out of five) at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Saturday. The two teams are currently locked in a tight race with one win and one loss.
KT gained the upper hand. The players, who tied for fifth with SSG Landers with 72 wins, two draws and 70 losses in the regular season league, beat SSG and fourth-ranked Doosan Bears (74 wins, two draws and 68 losses), respectively, to win semi-playoff tickets. KT then won the first game 3-2, boosting its momentum.
LG Electronics, which directly advanced to the semi-playoff by ranking third (76 wins, two draws and 66 losses) in the regular season league, also failed to keep an eye on LG Electronics. In the second game, starting pitcher Lim Chan-kyu’s performance in his team’s 7-2 victory was highlighted by his team’s strong pitching of 5.1 innings, seven hits, four strikeouts, two runs and one earned run.
In the best-of-five semi-playoffs, there have been six cases where both teams have won and lost one game. Among them, the winning team of Game 3 has all won tickets to the playoffs. This means that Game 3 is important to both LG and KT.
LG will deploy Choi as a starting pitcher. Since receiving the nomination by the Heroes through the first round of nominations in 2015, Choi has been wearing LG’s pin-striped uniform since the 2023 season, and is a veteran right-hander who has posted 78 wins, 58 losses and 4.36 ERA in 217 games (1134.1 innings) so far this year. In 24 games (126.2 innings), he posted nine wins, seven losses and an ERA of 4.26 and met KT three times, and pitched well with two wins and an ERA of 3.50. However, Hwang Jae-gyun (2 hits in 5 times at bat this season), Kim Min-hyuk (4 hits in 8 times at bat) and Kang Baek-ho (two hits in 6 times at bat) who showed strong performance against him are among those to be wary of.
Above all, in order for Choi Won-tae to pitch well in Game 3 of the semi-playoff, he has to shake off the feeling of autumnal lethargy. Choi Won-tae has played 15 postseason games, but has not shown any significant performance with an earned run average of 11.17 with one loss, one save and three holds. Fortunately, the bullpen is relatively relaxed, with left-hander Son Joo-young (9-10, 3.79 ERA), who has been active as a starter in the regular league.
The batting lineup is not bad either. He only had five hits and two runs in the first game, but he also garnered 10 hits and seven runs in the second game. While Shin Min-jae, who swept a combined four hits and three RBIs in the first and second games, is batting hard, Moon Sung-joo, who is batting ninth, also swung the bat with two hits and one RBI from three times at bat in the second game. 메이저놀이터
On top of that, if Moon Bo-kyung and Kim Hyun-soo, who have yet to produce hits this fall, are revived, LG will be able to display even fiercer offense. After the second game, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said, “It would be nice if everyone does well, but one or two players are not allowed in the postseason. (Moon) Bo-kyung and (Kim) Hyun-soo will play the third game,” adding, “Moon and Kim Hyun-soo will help.”
In response, KT will deploy Wes Benjamin as its starting pitcher. Benjamin, who has been with KT since the 2022 season, is a left-handed pitcher who recorded 20 wins, 10 losses and an earned run average of 3.23 in 46 games (256.2 innings) until last year. His performance this year was somewhat disappointing. He recorded 11 wins, 8 losses and an earned run average of 4.63 in 28 games (149.2 innings). In the second game of the wild card game against Doosan, Benjamin proved himself to be an “Autumn Man” by pitching seven innings of three hits, six strikeouts, and no runs.
It was William Cuevas’ turn to take the mound in the first place, but Lee focused on Benjamin’s record against LG. Benjamin has displayed impressive performance with five wins, two losses and an earned run average of 1.66 in 10 matches he has played with LG. He has pitched well in four matches this year, with one win and one loss and an earned run average of 1.93.
He may be exhausted from repeated blood clots, but he is also in a good situation in the bullpen. He rested for a day on the 7th, and veteran Woo Kyu-min (1.2 scoreless innings) pitched well in the second game. “Woo Kyu-min threw well (in the second game). It will give strength to the bullpen. We lost, but we gained some,” coach Lee Kang-chul said. “The middle was ambiguous, but since Woo showed good performance, I got a card.”
In addition, the physical strength of KT fielders is expected to be the key point of this game. Still, their offense power seems not bad, but in the second game, they made as many as four mistakes and were shaken. If a player makes an error in a big game, it is important to maintain concentration as it can instantly dampen the mood.
