KT Wiz manager Lee Kang-cheol expressed satisfaction with sweeping the doubleheader against the first-place LG Twins with a dramatic comeback victory.
KT won both games of the doubleheader against LG at Jamsil Stadium on the 17th. Notably, in the second game, they were trailing 1-6 until the 5th inning but made a remarkable turnaround to win 7-6 after the 6th inning.
Before the game at Jamsil Stadium on the 18th, manager Lee Kang-cheol said with a smile, "We have faced comebacks from LG many times, and we have never beaten their bullpen, but we did yesterday."
KT fell behind 1-6 after Kim Hyun-soo hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the 5th inning. After the cleaning time, in the top of the 6th with one out, Jang Jin-hyuk reached base with a triple against Kim Jin-seong, starting a rally. After two walks, they had the bases loaded with one out, scoring a run on a wild pitch. With the bases still loaded, Hwang Jae-kyun's RBI single and Kang Baek-ho's sacrifice fly narrowed the deficit to 4-6.
In the top of the 7th, a solo home run by Rojas brought the score to 5-6. Then in the top of the 8th with two outs and runners on first and third, Jang Seong-woo turned the game around with a two-run double against Kim Young-woo.
Lee said, "When it was 6-1, I was planning to let some new kids throw for an inning, but when the score started coming in the 6th, my head got a bit complicated. I couldn't use my closer with a two-run deficit, so it was ambiguous."
He continued, "I think (Woo) Gyu-min did well to hold that crucial 7th inning. It's really a bit of a waste to use (Son) Dong-hyun with a one-run difference, but since two strong pitchers from LG had already come in, I was contemplating whether to go for it or not. That concern was perfectly resolved by (Jang) Seong-woo. The hitters were always creating dilemmas, but yesterday they neatly solved the problem."
Lee explained, "I was considering using Dong-hyun for just one time after preparing him. I thought of using (Joo) Kwon first and then could possibly use him again if we faced a crisis, but Seong-woo resolved it all with one hit."
In the bottom of the 9th with no outs and a runner on second, there was a tie crisis. Lee said, "The moment Young-hyun hit the (double), I thought, let’s just be satisfied with not losing. I told them to just tie it up and then finish, but we held on."
The turning point was the 6th inning. Lee said, "The only one who hit well against Kim Jin-seong was Jang Jin-hyuk. He went 2 for 3. That triple was huge. (Kim) Min-hyeok coming in as a pinch hitter and drawing a walk was significant in getting Kim Jin-seong out quickly. Also, Rojas's home run was big."
Lee smiled and said, "The moment we gave up a home run to (Kim) Hyun-soo, I thought we should just stop. We've never beaten LG like that before. We’ve faced them many times, but we've never beaten their bullpen, and we did it yesterday."
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