KT Wiz consolidates second place with two straight wins.

KT won its second straight game with a 5-3 victory over the KIA Tigers in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Friday. With the win, KT secured at least fifth place and a postseason berth.

Starting pitcher Jo Jo-hyun pitched five innings of three-hit ball (one home run) with three strikeouts and two walks to earn his second win of the season. The bullpen of Lee Sang-dong (1 run in 1 inning), Kim Young-hyun (⅔ inning), Joo Kwon (⅓ inning), Son Dong-hyun (1 inning), and Kim Jae-yoon (1 inning) secured the win. Kim earned his 32nd save of the season.

The KT bats took advantage of Kia’s defensive lapses. Park Byung-ho delivered the game-winning RBI single in the fourth inning, while Kim Sang-soo hit his second home run of the season, finishing 1-for-3 with a double, one home run, two RBI, two runs scored and one walk.

KIA, which lost its second straight game, was hurt by an error by shortstop Kim Kyu-sung. Red flags were also raised in the postseason race. Kim Do-young hit his seventh home run of the season and went 2-for-3 with a double, home run, two RBIs, two runs scored, one walk and one stolen base, but it wasn’t enough to prevent his team from losing. Starting pitcher Yang Hyun-jong took the loss, allowing five runs (three earned) on five hits (one home run) with two walks and five strikeouts in six innings, effectively ending his quest for a ninth straight 10-win season. Yang is now 7-11 in his career.

KIA got into scoring position in the top of the third inning when Kim Kyu-sung doubled. Kim Do-young then took a 140-kilometer-per-hour fastball from KT starter Choi Joo-hyun for a leadoff home run.

KT answered right back in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff double by Shin Bon-ki. Ahn Chi-young followed with a sacrifice bunt and Kim Sang-boo drew a walk. With runners on first and third, Hwang Jae-gyun drove in a run with a single, and Anthony Alford’s throw to shortstop Kim Kyu-sung made a critical throwing error to tie the game at 2-2. KT took advantage of the momentum and scored a run on Park Byung-ho’s RBI single and another on a wild pitch and Jang Jang-woo’s RBI sacrifice fly.

In the top of the fourth inning, Kim Sang-soo took a six-pitch, 141-kilometer fastball from KIA starter Yang Hyun-jong for a solo home run to make it 5-2.

In the top of the sixth inning, Kim Do-young led off with a single and stole second base. Ko Jong-wook struck out, but Kim Sun-bin followed with an RBI single to make it a one-run game. In the eighth inning, Kim Kyu-sung and Kim Do-young hit back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second with no outs, but the center field lineup of Go Jong-wook, Kim Sun-bin, and Socrates was silent. 스포츠토토

In the bottom of the eighth, KT’s leadoff hitter Alford singled and stole second base. However, the center field lineup of Park Byung-ho, Jang Sung-woo, and Moon Sang-chul was unable to convert the hit into a run. In the top of the ninth, reliever Kim Jae-yoon came on and finished the game cleanly.