KT defeated Doosan two days in a row… ‘First ever WC overturn’, advanced to semi-PO
KT Wiz advanced to the semi-playoffs (semi-PO, best-of-five), making history by having the 5th-place team defeat the 4th-place team in the regular season for the first time in the history of a professional baseball wild card (WC) match. Professional baseball, which is gaining popularity by exceeding 10 million spectators for the first time in history this season, showed a green light for box office success by producing spectacular games in the postseason.
KT won 1-0 over the Doosan Bears in the second game of the postseason wild card game held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 3rd, thanks to starting pitcher Wes Benjamin’s scoreless pitch and center hitter Kang Baek-ho’s winning hit.
As for the wild card, the 4th place team has an absolute advantage as the top team can advance to semi-PO even if it draws only 1 out of 2 games. However, KT, who had previously gained momentum with a dramatic comeback win in the ‘tiebreaker’ match for 5th place against SSG Landers, achieved consecutive wins without conceding a single point in both wild card games.
KT, which won 4-0 in the first game the previous day by knocking out Doosan starter Kwak Bin in the first inning amid a good pitch from starter William Cuevas, achieved a miracle by winning by one run in the second game after a fierce pitching battle. It was the moment when the 5th place team defeated the 4th place team for the first time since the introduction of the wild card match in 2015, completing an ‘upset’.
KT will play the first semi-PO game against the LG Twins, the 3rd place team in the regular season, at Jamsil Stadium on the 5th.
Hankyung.com reporter Kim Bong-gu kbk9@hankyung.com
