KT Wiz didn’t win, but they avoided defeat thanks to veteran Park Kyung-soo.
KT played SSG Landers to an 8-8 draw after 12 extra innings in the 14th game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Monday. It was the longest game this season, lasting five hours and two minutes.
KT scored one run in the first inning and one run in the second inning to take the lead. Starter Kim Min-ho kept the game scoreless until the third inning, when he collapsed. He gave up a single to left-center to Kim Sung-hyun and a double to center to Cho Hyung-woo. He gave up a walk to Choi Ji-hoon to load the bases.
A walk to Park Sung-hyun and a hit-by-pitch to Choi Jeong loaded the bases. Heredia got a grounder in front of the shortstop, but in the meantime, Choi Ji-hoon crossed home plate. Heredia then got Choi Joo-hwan to ground out to the first baseman, allowing Park Sung-hwan to score from third. Kim then gave up an infield single to Han Yoo-seom to make it 2-5.
But KT fought back. They scored four runs in the bottom of the third to take a 6-5 lead. In the bottom of the fifth, Kim Sang-soo hit an RBI double to make it 8-5.
Three runs in the top of the seventh inning. The game became tense again. After Kim Min-soo gave up five runs in three innings, Jo Jo-hyun followed with two scoreless innings. Son Dong-hyun and Park Young-hyun took the mound and gave up runs in the seventh.
With the score tied at 8-8, Kim Jae-yoon came in to close out the top of the ninth. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning to send the game into extra innings. Kim Jae-yoon’s performance was not without its flaws.
Kim gave up a single to Han Yoo-seom in the first inning and a sacrifice bunt to Ha Jae-hoon. First and second base. One hit could tip the balance. Kim Jae-yoon’s first pitch was hit by Kim Sung-hyun, and the ball sailed into the glove of second baseman Park Kyung-soo.
Park immediately threw to second base to get out Oh Tae-gon, who ran to third. The game went into extra innings.
Kim Jae-yoon pitched a scoreless 10th inning and a scoreless 11th inning. Kim Jae-yoon pitched more than three innings for the first time in 2,667 days since May 21, 2016, against Daejeon Hanwha. At that time, he pitched the most innings in a single game (3⅓ innings) (1 run/47 pitches).
It is the third time he has pitched more than three innings. Kim Jae-yoon previously pitched 3 innings against Sasik Lotte on June 9, 2015 (3 scoreless innings/30 pitches) and against Daejeon Hanwha on May 21, 2016 (1 run in 3⅓ innings/47 pitches).
Kim Jae-yoon was once again assisted by Park Kyung-soo in the top of the 12th inning.먹튀검증
SSG had a chance in the top of the 12th inning. The first batter, Oh Tae-gon, hit a double to right-center field. Ha Jae-hoon followed with a sacrifice bunt to put runners on first and third. Kim Sung-hyun walked and pinch-hitter Choi Sang-min stole second.
Cho Hyung-woo then flied out to center field and Choi Ji-hoon hit a grounder to the second baseman. The second baseman, Park Kyung-soo, made a difficult catch and threw to first base, a difficult move. Choi Ji-hoon sprinted, but Park Kyung-soo made an accurate and quick throw to first base for the out.
Even the video review didn’t change the outcome. KT took a breath and avoided defeat. SSG, who missed a golden opportunity, dropped to fifth place. KIA moved into fourth place with a better win percentage.