The KT Wiz won a hard-fought pitching battle against the Doosan Bears to extend their winning streak to three games.
KT won 1-0 against Doosan 메이저사이트 in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League on Friday at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.
With its third straight win, third-ranked KT improved its season record to 54 wins, 2 losses and 45 draws. Meanwhile, fifth-ranked Doosan, which lost its third straight game, fell to 49-1-48.
The game was characterized by a pitcher’s duel between starters William Cuevas (KT) and Raul Alcantara (Doosan).
Cuevas pitched seven innings of two-hit ball with two walks and seven strikeouts, while Alcantara pitched seven innings of four-hit ball with no walks and six strikeouts, and the game was tied until the seventh inning.
Doosan had runners on first and third in the bottom of the fourth inning on a bunt single by Jung Soo-bin and a throwing error by Cuevas, but Jose Rojas’ grounder to first base was thrown out at home by KT first baseman Oh Yoon-seok.
KT starting pitcher William Cuevas throws hard during the first inning of the baseball game between the Doosan Bears and the KT Wiz at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Aug. 15. 2023.8.15/News ⓒ News1 Reporter Kim Min-ji
KT also tried to score with a double steal in the top of the sixth inning with runners on first and third, but Doosan threw away the chance.
The ‘streak of zeroes’ was only broken after both pitchers left the mound.
In the top of the eighth inning, KT drew a leadoff walk from Park Chi-guk, who had been relieved after two outs. A throwing error by the opposing right fielder, Kim In-tae, allowed the runner to reach second base.
From there, Kim Min-hyuk hit a single that landed in front of the center fielder. Doosan center fielder Jung Soo-bin made a sliding catch but fell backwards, allowing the runner from second base to score. Kim Min-hyuk rounded third base and drove home, but was thrown out.
It seemed like the flow was breaking, but KT held on to the one run. In the eighth, Park Young-hyun pitched a clean inning, while Kim Jae-yoon closed out the ninth.
Cuevas earned his sixth win of the season (undefeated), while Kim collected his 20th save of the season (3-2).
It was Kim’s fourth consecutive 20-save season since 2020. It is the sixth most in KBO history.
Doosan’s Park Chi-guk, who gave up the game-winning run, suffered his first loss of the season (4-2).