KT Wiz swept the Doosan Bears with a winning series (two out of three) behind the back of homegrown ace Ko Young-pyo, who extended his streak of quality starts (QS-6 innings or less) to 10 games.
KT won 3-1 against visiting Doosan in the Korea Baseball Organization 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Saturday.
After having its seven-game winning streak snapped the day before, KT continued its upward trend by racking up wins.
KT took the lead in the top of the first inning thanks to a focused batting lineup.
Leadoff hitter Kim Min-hyuk drew a walk off Doosan starter Kwak Bin, and Lee Ho-yeon and Hwang Jae-gyun followed with back-to-back singles to make it 1-0.
With runners on first and third, Anthony Alford’s infield grounder allowed Lee to score from third.
Ko Young-pyo, with a lighter shoulder, shut down the opposing lineup.
He struck out Kim Jae-hwan with runners on first and second in the first inning and got out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning by striking out Kang Seung-ho and Jang Seung-hyun.
He didn’t allow a run in the third inning with runners on first and second and in the fifth inning with runners on first and second.
Ko Young-pyo, who had been pitching well, gave up his first run in the sixth inning. After giving up a double to Jose Rojas in right field, Kim Jae-hwan’s infield grounder put runners on second and third.
Ko Young-pyo then threw a one-bound ball to Kim In-tae, and the catcher failed to make the catch, allowing Rojas to score from third.
Down 2-1, KT immediately scored a run to get back in the game.
In the top of the seventh inning, Choi Jae-dae hit a double to left field and moved to third on a walk by Kwak Bin.
He then scored on a sacrifice fly by Kim Min-hyuk to make it 3-1.
Ko Young-pyo took the mound in the bottom of the seventh. He gave up a walk to Kang Seung-ho and a single to Heo Kyung-min to put runners on second and third, but he got Jung Soo-bin to fly out to left field to end the threat.
After getting out of the jam, KT brought in set-up man Park Young-hyun in the eighth and closer Kim Jae-yoon in the ninth to close out the game.
Ko pitched seven innings of six-hit ball, striking out five and walking one to improve to 10-5 on the season and extend his double-digit win streak to three years.
He lowered his ERA to 2.44, moving him into sole possession of third place in that category.
He continued his streak of complete games dating back to June 6 against the Lotte Giants and has now earned a quality start in 16 of his 19 appearances this season.
Doosan starter Kwak Bin took the loss despite pitching well, allowing three runs on six hits with eight strikeouts and two walks in seven innings. 먹튀검증