It’s playoff time and the Korean Series has come down to the wire again. The KT Wiz’s “reliable corner” in their quest to repeat the only upset in Korean Series history is the strength of their starting pitching, which is stronger than that of the LG Twins.
KT lost 4-15 in Game 4 of the best-of-seven Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Korean Series 2023 at Katie Wiz Park in Suwon on April 10.
After winning the first game, KT dropped the next three games to fall to 1-3. They only need to lose one more game to clinch the championship.
There have been 17 times in the history of the Korean Series that a team has won three games to one (including a tie). Sixteen of those times, the team with the 3-1 lead went on to win the championship. It’s not as easy for a team down 1-3 to take the next three games.
Only once before has a team come back from a 1-3 deficit to win three straight. In the 2013 Korean Series, the backed-in-the-corner Samsung Lions pulled off a “come-from-behind” victory over the Doosan Bears in Games 5, 6, and 7.
It’s a long shot, but KT will have to go all out in the remaining games to pull off the upset.
It’s not all doom and gloom though. KT has the advantage in the starting pitching battle over LG.
In the previous playoffs, KT dropped the first two games to the NC Dinos and were on the verge of elimination, but then took Games 3, 4, and 5 to complete the “reverse sweep.” Again, the starting pitching was key, with Ko Young-pyo in Game 3, William Cuevas in Game 4, and Wes Benjamin in Game 5.
Even now, with the series at 1-3, KT’s starting rotation is the same as it was in the playoffs. It is very likely that Ko, Cuevas, and Benjamin, who appeared in Games 1-3, will start Games 5-7 in that order.
LG will likely start Casey Kelly in Game 5 and Chan-gyu Lim in Game 7. However, the starting pitcher for Game 6 is undecided. Choi Won-tae, who pitched in Game 2, had an extremely poor outing, so it’s hard to say what the order will be.
For KT, if they can win Game 5 against their ace, Kelly, they will be able to get over the hump and look to capitalize on their ‘starting advantage’ in Games 6 and 7.
Of course, starting advantage doesn’t always translate to victory. They’ve already lost games 2 and 3 with Cuevas and Benjamin.
But for now, KT can only rely on the performance of their well-rested starters. The bullpen of Son Dong-hyun, Park Young-hyun, and Kim Jae-yoon are tired, and the bats are not attacking the opposing mound effectively due to their erratic performance. 아톰카지노
Ko Young-pyo, who is likely to start Game 5, has pitched clutch games in the playoffs, setting the stage for victory. This time, he will be the spearhead of KT’s counterattack.
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