SEOUL– The Kiwoom Heroes routed the KT Wiz 9-2 on Wednesday to move within a victory of advancing to the next series in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason, pushing the defending champions to the brink in the process.
Yasiel Puig blasted a three-run homer and drove in four runs to back a solid start by Tyler Eppler at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, south of Seoul, as the Heroes took a 2-1 series lead. Leadoff Kim Jun-wan chipped in three RBIs, and the Heroes hammered the Wiz to the tune of 16 hits.
The Heroes can finish off the Wiz in Game 4 of their best-of-five series at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, back in Suwon.
Puig gave the Heroes a 3-0 lead with one swing of the bat in the top of the first. Back-to-back singles with two outs set the table for Puig, who destroyed a 3-2 changeup from starter Ko Young-pyo and sent it deep into left field seats.
The Wiz threatened to cut into that lead in the bottom first, putting two aboard after a single and a fielding error by shortstop Sin Jun-woo. But the Wiz’s two big boppers, Park Byung-ho and Jang Sung-woo, struck out and grounded out to let Eppler off the hook.
The Heroes tacked on a couple of runs in the top third, chasing Ko from the game in the process. After Lee Yong-kyu’s single, Kim Hye-seong lined a base hit to left-center field. Center fielder Bae Jung-dae completely missed the ball after it bounced in front of him, and as the ball rolled to the warning track, Lee scored all the way from first while Kim advanced to third.
Odrisamer Despaigne relieved Ko, but Puig greeted him with an RBI single to open a 5-0 lead for the Heroes.
The Wiz got a run back in the bottom third, though they could have made things much closer.
Sin Jun-woo was charged with his second error of the game when he did a double pump after fielding a grounder by Bae Jung-dae, who beat the late throw to first.
Eppler couldn’t pitch around the error this time, as Kang Baek-ho lined a double to right field corner to cash in Bae to make it 5-1.
Sin committed another error later in the same inning, bobbling a groundball off the bat of Anthony Alford. After a strikeout, Jang’s single to shallow left loaded the bases for Kim Min-hyuck.
After a mound visit, Eppler got Kim to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play, with Sin making a perfect throw to complete the twin killing.
That missed opportunity came back to bite the Wiz, as the Heroes scored three times in the top fourth to open up an 8-1 lead.
A double, a single and a walk loaded the bases for Kim Jun-wan, who cashed in two runners with a single for a 7-1 lead. Three batters later, a fielder’s choice grounder by Kim Hye-seong brought in another run.
The Heroes weren’t done, with Kim Jun-wan delivering a two-out RBI single in the fifth to put his team ahead 9-1.
Kiwoom manager Hong Won-ki said Puig’s three-run shot gave his team all the momentum it needed and Eppler did his part with some aggressive pitching early on.
“I think Puig’s early home run had a positive impact on the rest of the lineup today,” Hong said. “I expect even more out of him in upcoming games.”
The Wiz left two runners stranded when Jang Sung-woo grounded into a 6-4-3 double play in the bottom fifth. They were silenced over the next three frames before eking out an inconsequential run in the ninth.
“We gave up too many runs early, and we couldn’t get out of that hole,” KT manager Lee Kang-chul said. “I wish we could have cut it to 5-2 in the third inning and got the Heroes go to their bullpen. We just didn’t get it done.”
Eppler held the Wiz to one unearned run over five innings, scattering six hits and striking out five. Ko, in his first career postseason start, was shelled for five runs on six hits in 2 1/3 innings.
To save their season, the Wiz will turn to their most trusted postseason pitcher, So Hyeong-jun. The 21-year-old right-hander has a 2-0 record and a 0.89 ERA in four career postseason games.
But he struggled against the Heroes in the regular season, with a 4.91 ERA in two starts, while allowing 15 hits and five walks in 11 innings.
Against So, Puig batted 3-for-6, and Kim Hye-seong had three hits in five at-bats.
“We didn’t use our top relievers today, so if So Hyeong-jun can keep things close early, we’ll go all in with our bullpen and get the series to Game 5,” manager Lee said.
The Heroes will counter with right-hander Jeong Chan-heon, who went an underwhelming 5-6 with a 5.36 ERA in the regular season. But he pitched better against the Wiz than any other opponent, with a 1.59 ERA in three games covering 17 innings.
Park Byung-ho went 3-for-5 with two doubles against Jeong, but the Wiz cleanup hitter is being hobbled by an ankle injury. The usual leadoff man, Cho Yong-ho, batted 3-for-7, but he has not played in this series due to a back injury.
“Hopefully, tomorrow will be the last game of the series. Jeong Chan-heon is an experienced pitcher, and we’ll count on him to pitch deep into the game,” manager Hong said. “We saved our key relievers, because we scored a bunch of runs today. We’ll be leaning on those pitchers tomorrow.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency