I am happy that today both the team won and I became the winning pitcher.
William Cuevas (KT Wiz) shined with a perfect performance.
Cuevas started the away game against the Samsung Lions at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on the 14th. Until this game, Cuevas had shown strength against Samsung with a record of 8 wins and 3 losses, an earned run average of 3.21 in 19 lifetime games. He pitched well for 7 innings, allowing 4 hits, 2 walks, and striking out 8 batters without allowing any runs. This was his third win of the season. It was a victory obtained after a lengthy 46 days since winning against Doosan on April 29.
His maximum speed reached up to 151 km/h, and he effectively utilized various pitches, including two-seam fastballs, cut fastballs, changeups, and sweepers. With Cuevas' perfect performance, KT overwhelmed Samsung 10-3. Kim Sang-su and Lee Jung-hoon contributed with a 2-run home run in the 3rd inning.
In the 1st inning, Cuevas subdued Kim Ji-chan, Yang Do-geun, and Koo Ja-wook, completing a clean inning. In the 2nd inning, he induced the lead-off hitter Lewin Diaz into a fly out, and struck out Kang Min-ho and Kim Tae-hoon, turning the inning around with a fly to center field. In the 3rd inning, Cuevas gave up a hit to lead-off batter Park Seung-kyu but then tightly held back Kim Young-woong, Lee Jae-hyun, and Kim Ji-chan, continuing his scoreless streak.
In the 4th inning, after one out, he issued a walk to Koo Ja-wook but struck out Diaz and Kang Min-ho consecutively. In the 5th inning, Cuevas struck out Kim Tae-hoon and Park Seung-kyu in succession and easily handled Kim Young-woong with a pop out to second base. In the 6th inning, he faced a crisis with no outs and runners on first and second after Lee Jae-hyun's walk and Kim Ji-chan's hit, but then he blocked three batters to finish the inning without allowing any runs.
In the 7th inning, Cuevas allowed hits to Kim Tae-hoon and Kim Young-woong, putting runners on first and second with two outs. However, with Shin Jae-hoon at the plate and the count 2B-2S, he induced a swing and a miss on the fifth pitch with a slider. Cuevas handed the mound over to Won Sang-hyun in the 8th inning, leading 10-0.
After the game, Cuevas said, "I am happy that today both the team won and I became the winning pitcher. I had shown poor performances many times, which led to negative thoughts. The more that happened, the more I tried to remember what I did well and keep working hard." He added, "Each stadium has a different ABS zone, so I checked the ABS zone first and pitched aggressively. Thanks to that, I got a good result."
He also did not forget to express his gratitude to the fans. Cuevas said, "KT fans are a special presence for me. There have been many bad games, but I received hundreds of support messages every time I had one of those. It felt like family had sent the messages, like being in my hometown, and it seemed like tremendous support. I am always grateful to the fans. Thank you for waiting."
Meanwhile, Manager Lee Kang-cheol noted, "In crucial situations, Cuevas showed his true pitching after a long time. I hope he continues to pitch well."
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