LG Twins manager Yoon Kyung-yup watched his team practice at Jamsil Stadium on Thursday, and the first word out of his mouth when he met the press was “tight.”
LG will play the KT Wiz in the first game of the best-of-five semifinals at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Friday. The two teams met in the semifinals, two steps down from last year’s Korean Series.
KT is riding the momentum of a “magical journey. After a 144-game regular season, KT advanced to the wild-card game with a hard-fought 4-3 victory over SSG Landers in the first-ever best-of-five series. In the Wild Card Decider, the team faced fourth-ranked Doosan and won both Games 1 and 2, setting a record for the first-ever Wild Card Decider upset. Firsts, firsts, firsts.
Manager Yoon Kyung-yup said of KT:
“They had luck and power. They are much better than in the pennant race. The front four is perfect. The middle is also good. We’re not tired so far. I think it’s going to be a tight semifinals because we’re playing them now when they’re at their peak, so I think it’s going to be a tight semifinal. I think it will go to Game 5,” he cautioned.
Foreign pitchers Cuevas (six shutout innings in WC Game 1) and Benjamin (seven shutout innings in WC Game 2) have been dominant in the fall, as well as 13-game winner Eom Sang-baek. 파워볼실시간 Ko Young-pyo, who pitched one inning out of the bullpen in Game 2 of the wild-card deciding game, will start Game 1 on Friday.
Choi Min-joon, who is rehabbing from elbow surgery, is pitching out of the bullpen. Son Dong-hyun will join the rotation, easing the burden on Kim and Kim Min-soo, who have combined to pitch more than 75 innings. LG, on the other hand, will be without closer Yoo Young-chan for Game 1. Yoo suffered a paternal injury on the third day and will be out until the fifth.
KT is a stronger team now than when they met in the Korean Series last year.
“I think (KT Power) is much better this year,” said Yeom. Last year in the Korean Series, KT came up a little tired, and now they’re fresh and ready to play. KT is much better than last year in terms of composition,” he said.
Reigning MVP Rojas returns to KT this year to lead the team’s batting order. In 144 games, Rojas batted .989 with 32 home runs, 112 RBIs and a .989 OPS. He hit the game-winning three-run homer in the eighth inning of the fifth-place game against SSG. After missing the Korean Series last year due to psychological issues, Kang bounced back this year. In 144 games, he batted .840 with 26 home runs, 96 RBIs and an OPS of .840. He hit the game-winning hit in Game 2 of the wild-card deciding game as the No. 4 hitter.
LG will use Hernandez as a closer in the semifinals to address its weak bullpen. Hernandez will play a crucial role as the second pitcher after the starter, as he will need to connect with set-up man Kim Jin-sung and closer Yoo Young-chan in winning games.
Enns, Choi Won-tae, Lim Chan-kyu, and Son Ju-young will start. LG’s bats will need to come alive if they want to defeat KT, which has the momentum. “If the batting lineup comes alive, it will make the game easier for us,” said Yoon, pointing to the performance of the main hitters, including Kim Hyun-soo, Oh Ji-hwan, and Park Dong-won. If the bats can hit the way they did in last year’s Korean Series, Yeom’s game plan will be fulfilled.