Starter Wes Benjamin tossed a scoreless gem and the lineup produced just enough offense, as the KT Wiz blanked the Doosan Bears 1-0 for a historic upset in the wild card stage of the Korea Baseball Organization postseason Thursday.
KT Wiz starter Wes Benjamin celebrates after retiring the side in the bottom of the fifth inning against the Doosan Bears during the teams’ Korea Baseball Organization wild card game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 3, 2024. (Yonhap)
KT Wiz starter Wes Benjamin celebrates after retiring the side in the bottom of the fifth inning against the Doosan Bears during the teams’ Korea Baseball Organization wild card game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 3, 2024. (Yonhap)
Benjamin allowed just three hits and struck out six in seven shutout frames, and designated hitter Kang Baek-ho drove in the game’s only run with a sixth-inning single for the Wiz’s second straight road victory at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul.
Before a sellout crowd of 23,750, the Wiz became t
he first No. 5 seed to win the wild card round since the system made its debut in 2015. They will now take on the No. 3 seed LG Twins in the first round of the postseason, starting 2 p.m. Saturday back at Jamsil.
Kang Baek-ho of the KT Wiz celebrates after hitting an RBI single against the Doosan Bears during the teams’ Korea Baseball Organization wild card game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 3, 2024. (Yonhap)
Kang Baek-ho of the KT Wiz celebrates after hitting an RBI single against the Doosan Bears during the teams’ Korea Baseball Organization wild card game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 3, 2024. (Yonhap)
It will be the rematch of last year’s Korean Series, when the Twins captured their first title in 29 years.
In the wild card phase, the No. 4 seed has two chances to get a tie or a win to advance, while the fifth seed must win two straight games. The Bears wasted their first opportunity Wednesday by losing 4-0, despite outhitting the Wiz 7-6. And the bats did not wake up in ti
me to save the team’s season, as the Bears managed just three hits — all singles — in Thursday’s loss.
This was just the third time a second game was played in the wild card round. The Bears are the first team in wild card history to fail to score in two consecutive games.
Yang Suk-hwan of the Doosan Bears (R) reacts after getting thrown out at home against the KT Wiz during the teams’ Korea Baseball Organization wild card game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 3, 2024. (Yonhap)
Yang Suk-hwan of the Doosan Bears (R) reacts after getting thrown out at home against the KT Wiz during the teams’ Korea Baseball Organization wild card game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 3, 2024. (Yonhap)
The teams traded zeroes for five innings with both starters, Benjamin for the Wiz and Choi Seung-yong for the Bears, on top of their game.
Benjamin held the Bears to a hit through four innings and struck out four. Choi also gave up just one hit through four innings with two strikes.
But Choi was remov
ed after giving up two singles in the top of the fifth inning, giving the Wiz their first opportunity with a runner in scoring position.
Reliever Lee Young-ha came on but walked Sim Woo-jun to load the bases, prompting another Bears pitching change.
Lefty Lee Byeong-heon finally put out the fire by getting pinch hitter Moon Sang-chul to fly out to center.
The Bears also had an opportunity to break the ice in the bottom fifth, as Yang Suk-hwan led off with a single and advanced to second on a groundout.
Heo Kyoung-min rolled a single through the hole on the left for what appeared to be an RBI hit, but left fielder Mel Rojas Jr. gunned down Yang at home plate with a laser throw to keep the game scoreless.
The Wiz finally ended the string of zeroes in the top of the sixth.
Rojas led off with a double and advanced to third on a flyout. Kang Baek-ho then chopped a single to left to cash in Rojas for a 1-0 lead.
That was all the offense Benjamin needed. He came back out for the seventh and retired the side i
n order, punctuating it with a strikeout of Yang.
Swingman Ko Young-pyo got three quick outs in the bottom eighth and closer Park Yeong-hyun, pitching for the third straight day, went perfect in the ninth. He struck out pinch hitter Park Jun-young to cap off the big win.
Source: Yonhap News Agency