KT WIZ manager Lee Kang-cheol batting sixth and seventh in the lineup against the LG Twins in Game 1 of the best-of-seven Korean Series (KS) at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Sunday.
The pair hit two home runs apiece in the playoffs (PO) win over the NC Dinos. In the absence of Anthony Alford and Byung-ho Park, Bae and Moon provided the cannons needed to win the fall baseball season.
Combined with Jang Jang-woo, a batting sensation in the No. 5 spot, Lee expects to see devastating runs from the five through seven spots in the batting order.
Lee and Moon alternated between hot and cold on this day.
In the top of the second inning, with runners on first and second, Moon failed to hit a bunt, giving KT the second triple in Korean Series history.
Moon’s bunt didn’t roll and landed in a perfect spot for LG catcher Park Dong-won to catch.
Park sprayed the ball to third base, catching the lead runner and turning Moon Sang-chul into an out at first base.
In the process, the runner on first base, Choi Jae-dae, ran to second and then to third and was caught dead.
In the top of the ninth, Choi and Moon made up for their mistakes by saving LG’s chances.
In the top of the ninth, with the score tied at 2-2 and no outs against LG closer Ko Woo-seok, the duo drew a nine-pitch walk.
In a three-pitch, two-strike at-bat, he fouled off three consecutive cannonballs from Go Woo-seok that were over 150 kilometers per hour and drew a walk.
The speedy runners’ squad stole first base, leaving Ko Woo-seok and LG Battery’s Park Dong-won at the plate.
At the critical juncture, when stealing second base could have given away the game-winning run, Go Woo-seok couldn’t concentrate enough to hold off Choi Jae-dae or face Moon Sang-chul.
Already exhausted from the confrontation with the platoon, Go Woo-seok threw two consecutive pitches in a favorable two-strike, zero-pitch count, and then opted for a curveball as the sixth pitch of the at-bat when Hoesim’s fastball turned into a foul ball.
But Moon saw a slow curveball without much of an angle, and he swung the bat like lightning, drawing a huge parabola toward the left field wall.
LG left fielder Moon Sung-joo chased it hard, but it hit the top of the fence for a double.
Bae Jae-dae made it home with time to spare, and as the ball was being relayed to home, Moon Sang-chul, who was at third base, sealed the victory with an uppercut. 파워볼사이트