“Uhm Sang-baek laid the foundation for the team’s victory”
KT Wiz clinched a three-game weekend series with the Lotte Giants of the 2024 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League with a 6-3 victory in the 10th game of the season at Sajik Stadium in Busan on Wednesday.
It was KT that broke the early tie in the first inning. With the bases loaded in the top of the fourth inning, Jang Sung-woo hit a solo home run off Lotte starter Kim Jin-wook. It was the 73rd double-digit home run in five consecutive years in KBO history. But Lotte wasn’t done yet. In the bottom of the fifth inning, back-to-back singles by Na Seung-yup and Yoon Dong-hee and a sacrifice bunt by Noh Jin-hyuk put runners on second and third, and Park Seung-wook blasted a two-run double off KT starter Uhm Sang-baek.
However, in the second half of the game, things were similar to the day before (Day 12). Lotte started to self-destruct with errors, and KT didn’t miss a beat. In the top of the seventh inning, KT’s leadoff hitter Kim Sang-soo singled and Hwang Jae-gyun walked to put runners on first and second. Kim Min-hyuk then hit a grounder to the second baseman, but Lotte’s Go Seung-min made a throwing error. KT then pulled out the pinch-hitter in Oh Jae-il, and the commander’s mercenary move paid off.
Oh Jae-il blasted a come-from-behind three-run home run off Jin Hae-soo on a very unfavorable count of 0B-2S. It was Oh’s seventh home run of the season and eighth pinch-hit home run of his career. After an uneventful fifth inning, Uhm Sang-baek returned to the mound in the eighth and struck out the first batter he faced, Noh Jin-hyuk, to start the inning. However, he gave up a hard-hit ball to the next batter, Park Seung-wook, and had to leave the mound after pitching a career-high six innings. Kim, who took over for Batong, gave up a hit to pinch-hitter Lee Jung-hoon and then grounded out to Hwang Sung-bin, allowing Uhm Sang-baek’s successor to score to cut the deficit to 4-3.
In the top of the ninth, after a leadoff single by Kim Min-hyuk and a sacrifice bunt by Shin Bong-ki, Lotte third baseman Noh Jin-hyuk made a throwing error on a grounder to shortstop, and Lotte left fielder 온라인카지노사이트 Victor Reyes made a throwing error to second base to put runners on second and third. Mel Rojas Jr. drew an automatic walk, and with the bases loaded, Kang Baek-ho singled and Moon Sang-chul grounded out to score a run to make it 6-3. Just like the previous day (Dec. 12), KT also had trouble with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, but ‘closer’ Park Young-hyun was able to preserve the lead and secure the win.
On the day, KT starter Uhm Sang-baek pitched a career-high 7⅓ innings, allowing three runs (three earned) on three hits with one walk and six strikeouts to earn his eighth win of the season with a Quality Start+ (seven innings of three earned runs or less). At the plate, designated hitter Oh Jae-il went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs, while Jang Sung-woo went 1-for-1 with a home run, one RBI and one run scored.
After the game, head coach Lee Kang-cheol said, “Uhm Sang-baek pitched the most innings in a game and earned his first quality start of the season. He pitched a long inning to set the stage for our victory. “The bullpen struggled on a hot day,” said Jang Jang-woo. “Jae-il Oh hit a leadoff home run to start the game, and then Jae-il Oh hit a three-run homer to put the game out of reach. They hit valuable home runs. In the ninth inning, the batters showed their focus and scored the winning run.”