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| Keum Lee Yong-gyu is taking a hit. Gocheok = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.04.30/ |
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| Photo provided by Kium Heroes |
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| A game between the Kiwoom Heroes and the LG Twins at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 9th. Kiwoom Rosenberg is disappointed when the perfect is broken. Gocheok = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.04.09/ |
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"He's throwing well, but the pitchers are tired as the tight game continues. Even with the same number of pitches, the energy consumption is different."
The inside of the 'steel magic' was prophesied. Kiwoom Heroes escaped three consecutive losses by destroying Ko Young-pyo, the "national ace" with a rifle lineup that exploded for the first time in a long time.
Kiwoom recently escaped three consecutive losses by winning Game 1 of the weekend series against KT Wiz 5-3 at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 2nd.
With this victory, Kiwoom recorded its 12th win (23 losses) this season, showing a glimmer of hope for the last place. As Yasiel Puig also returns on the 4th, he has set up a turning point to turn the subdued atmosphere due to his three consecutive losses against Lotte.
On the other hand, KT seemed to show fatigue in its 11th-inning draw with the Doosan Bears the previous day. Unlike Kiwoom, which had as many as 17 hits, it had only eight scattered hits, and errors came out. The main hitters continued to be sluggish. At least, it is fortunate that Ahn Hyun-min changed the trend by running home runs for two consecutive days, and even consecutive home runs.
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| A game between the Doosan Bears and the KT Wiz at Jamsil Stadium on the 29th. Director Lee Kang-chul is in thought. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.04.29/ |
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KT manager Lee Kang-chul, who met before the game, said of Jang Joon-won's injury the previous day, "'It is a fracture of the ankle (spinal) and has already undergone surgery. Rehabilitation is said to take 12 weeks." With Huh Kyung-min and Kim Sang-soo missing due to injuries, time was opened for Jang Joon-won in the KT infield, and it was a pity for the student who couldn't catch it. I am 30 years old this year, and I am in trouble because I have to get injured every time I have a crisis like this.
Starting teams such as Ko Young-pyo, So Hyung-joon and Heyesus are throwing well with a one-point ERA, but if you play a fierce game every time, your fatigue will inevitably increase. This is why the batting lineup, which is ranked eighth in team batting average, should come up.
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| Dusan-Kium match held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 22nd. Kiwoom won 5-4 with a sweat. Director Hong Won-ki is greeting his fans. Gocheok = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.4.22/ |
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Kiwoom is in a total crisis in terms of team power. He has been at the bottom for two consecutive years and remains at the bottom this year, and his team batting average, team OPS, and team ERA are also at the bottom. The starting lineup is also shaky, and the bullpen is not good.
Puig is the core of this year's Kiwoom season plan. Kiwoom chose to upgrade the team's batting lineup by using only one foreign pitcher and placing two foreign hitters, Kadynes-Pugh. However, Puig's sluggishness and injuries overlap, and Cardinez also seems to have hit a wall amid intensive checks.
Kiwoom manager Hong Won-ki said "Fortunately, the shoulder pain has almost disappeared." It is also important that Puig returns, but in fact, the batting balance was not good even before the injury. I hope Puig will be a big help in the central lineup" expressed anticipation.
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| KT-KIA match held at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 15th. Starting pitcher KT Ko Young-pyo is pitching. Gwangju = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.4.15/ |
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Kiwoom played in the lineup of Lee Yong-kyu (center fielder), Song Sung-moon (third base), Choi Joo-hwan (first base), Cardinez (designated hitter), Won Sung-joon (right wing), Bae Sang-kwon (left wing), Kim Tae-jin (second base), Kim Jae-hyun (catcher), and Eo Jun-seo (striker). The starter is Rosenberg.
KT faced off with Kim Min-hyuk (left fielder), Hwang Jae-gyun (third base), Kang Baek-ho (designated hitter), Rojas (middle fielder), Ahn Hyun-min (right fielder), Kwon Dong-jin (striker), Jang Sung-woo (catcher), Kang Min-sung (second base), and Yoon Jun-hyuk (first base). The starter is Ko Young-pyo.
Contrary to expectations, KT Ko Young-pyo was shaken first. From the 1st to the 5th inning, Ko Young-pyo showed an uneasy pitch that allowed the runner to advance to the scoring position every time without a single third-out.
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| Photo provided by Kium Heroes |
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Kiwoom had a chance with one out and runners on first and second bases with Lee Yong-kyu and Choi Joo-hwan's hit from the top of the first inning. However, second baseman Song Sung-moon was caught in check and swallowed the disappointment. In the top of the second inning, Kim Tae-jin and Kim Jae-hyun had consecutive hits, followed by Eo Jun-seo's walk to load the bases with two outs. Lee Yong-kyu struck out unfortunately. In the top of the third inning, Choi Joo-hwan's consecutive hits gave him a chance to hit first and second bases with one out, but Won Sung-joon's straight hit to first base followed the bad luck of being a double out.
Still, I had a little bit of luck at the beginning of the fourth inning. With a hit by Bae Sang-kwon's Kim Jae-hyun and Lee Yong-gyu, the bases loaded with two outs again. Here, Song Sung-moon's missed ball flowed toward third base, becoming a lucky infield hit, and scored the first run. However, the follow-up hit did not continue.
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| Kium Rosenberg is coming down from the mound. Gocheok = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.04.09/ |
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In the top of the fifth inning, leadoff hitter Cardinez hit a double, but he failed to score as he was threatened by Bae Sang-kwon's grounder to the pitcher with one out and third base. It was an ambiguous game whether to praise Ko Young-pyo's crisis management or feel the regret of Kiwoom's batters.
But if you knock it, the door will open. Kiwoom took a 5-0 lead with Kim Tae-jin's sacrifice fly following Won Sung-joon's bunt hit after the leadoff hitter got on base due to a shortstop error in the top of the sixth inning. Once it exploded, the score poured out like a flood.
Ko Young-pyo's report card, which was replaced after the sixth inning, was 16 hits and 5 runs (three earned runs) with two walks. Six strikeouts were comforting.
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| Photo courtesy=KT 위즈 |
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KT's offense was also frustrating, although the number of hits was small. A hit came out in every inning in the first to fifth innings, but he failed to connect with the score.
KT's score came on a home run. Ahn Hyun-min, who appeared after two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, fired a 130-meter home run that went over the back of left field. It is the second consecutive day after a tiebreaking two-run shot against Doosan's Kim Taek-yeon in the top of the ninth inning with one out and one on the first base.
Kiwoom starter Rosenberg was replaced after two walks, and the next pitcher Park Yoon-sung also gave up a walk, loading the bases with two outs, but Moon Sang-chul stepped down as a mistake.
The KT bench did not give up. Won Sang-hyun in the top of the 7th inning and Lee Chae-ho in the top of the 8th inning to secure the atmosphere. The attack in the bottom of the seventh inning ended in a double play.
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| Kiwoom and Hanwha match at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 12th, and Kiwoom Joo Seung-woo is pitching hard in the bottom of the 9th inning. Daejeon = Reporter's book@sportschosun.com/2025.04.12/ |
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In the top of the eighth inning, Ahn Hyun-min fired a consecutive home run from the first base with no outs, heating up Suwon. In addition, Kwon Dong-jin and Jang Sung-woo got on base with a walk and became the first and second bases with no outs.
However, as Chun Sung-ho's sending bunt came up, he was out with a foul fly and poured cold water on him. Moon Sang-chul also grounded out to third base. Kiwoom closer Joo Seung-woo took the mound with two outs and runners on the first and third bases, catching Kim Min-hyuk with a ground ball to the second base.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, leadoff hitter Hwang Jae-kyun got on base with a hit, but KT's luck ended there. Kiwoom closer Joo Seung-woo finished the game without additional runs.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
