KT is 'Big Game Feature' Cuevas

LG lost 2-3 to KT in Game 1 of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Korean Series (best-of-seven series) at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 7th. Starting pitcher Kelly pitched hard in six ⅓ innings with four hits, two walks, six strikeouts and two runs (one earned run), but the batting line did not explode. In the ninth inning, when the score was tied 2-2, even closer Ko Woo-suk collapsed after hitting a final double by Moon Sang-chul.

LG, which gave up the first game with a 74.4% chance of winning, will have to make all-out efforts in Game 2 of the Korean Series at Jamsil Stadium on the 8th. If even the second game is lost, the series will be sharply inclined to KT. The team that won all the first and second games of the Korean Series until last year has a 90% chance of winning (18/20). On the other hand, the team with two consecutive losses has only a 10% chance of winning.

LG predicted right-hander Choi Won-tae as the starting pitcher for Game 2. Choi Won-tae is a winning pitcher brought by LG in a trade to win the Korean Series. On July 29, Kiwoom lost outfielder Lee Joo-hyung, pitcher Kim Dong-kyu, and the first round pick of the 2024 rookie draft, and Choi Won-tae, a proven starter, was recruited.

Choi won nine games (146 ⅔ innings) and lost seven, with 4.30 strikeouts and 118 strikeouts in this season. In Kiwoom, he showed good pitching in 17 games (102 ⅓ innings) with six wins and four losses and an earned run average of 3.25, but he struggled after moving to LG with three wins and three losses and a 6.70 strikeout and 40 strikeouts in nine games (44 ⅓ innings). After the match against Doosan in Jamsil on September 30, he had 38 days of charging, but it is difficult to completely shake off his anxiety.

For LG, it cannot help but think of foreign pitcher Adam Plutko, who played as an ace in the first half. Flutko, who played in 21 games (123 ⅓ innings) this season with 11 wins, 3 losses and a 2.41 ERA, showed signs of abnormality from the second half. After suffering from cold body aches and high fever, he was confirmed to have COVID-19. After the game against Changwon NC on August 26, the third game after his return, he left again due to a pelvic bone bruise. Since then, the season has ended as it was after delaying his return with a different opinion from the club over his recovery from the injury.

LG, which returned home early ahead of the Korean Series, will have to play the Korean Series without a foreign pitcher. In the first game, Kelly pitched four hits, two walks, six strikeouts and two runs (one earned run) in six ⅓ innings, but it is painful that he did not win. The burden of the second round is high, and Choi Won-tae should play a role as a winning contractor.

Choi Won-tae played just one game against KT this year. In the Suwon game on September 5, he was withdrawn without a victory or defeat with five hits (one homer) in three innings, one walk, three strikeouts, and two runs.

In the postseason, he played a total of 13 games (three starts) when he was in Kiwoom. However, he had one save and three holds, but he was sluggish with one loss and an ERA of 9.50 without a win. He allowed 21 runs (19 earned runs) in 18 innings. In five Korean Series games in 2019 and 2022, he was beaten with one loss and one save and an ERA of 9.53. The fact that he struggled in a big game is a factor of anxiety.

In contrast, KT will start with foreign pitcher William Cuevas. Cuevas, who returned to KT as a substitute foreign player for Boschulcer in June, played with 12 wins, no losses, and a 2.60 ERA in 18 games (114 ⅓ innings). He became the third player to win the title without losing a point after Oh Bong-ok (13 wins) of Samsung in 1992 and Kim Hyun-wook (10 wins) of Samsung in 2002. Cuevas was the first to win 10 of them.

Against LG, he was beaten with an ERA of 11.45 in three games. He struggled with seven hits, two walks, three strikeouts and four runs in five innings in Jamsil on July 6, seven hits (one homer) in three innings in Suwon on July 27, and seven hits (one homer) in three innings in Suwon on September 5, and two walks and four runs. Moon Bo-kyung (.600 3/5 2 home runs) and Park Hae-min (.600 3/5). Kim Hyun-soo (.5714/7) and Moon Sung-joo (.4293/7) showed strong performances in Cuevas.

However, Cuevas is a big game feature that is strong in big games. He pitched well with three wins and one loss and a 2.84 ERA in five postseason games (25 ⅓ innings). In Game 1 of the 2021 Korean Series, he became a winning pitcher with seven hits, one out, eight strikeouts, and one run in seven ⅔ innings against Doosan. In Game 4 of the playoffs against NC in Changwon on the 3rd, he also won six innings with one hit, no outs, and three strikeouts. He pitched 73 pitches at the time, taking a four-day break.

It bothers me that I was weak against LG, but Game 1 starter Ko Young-pyo overcame his relativity. Ko Young-pyo, who lost two games and had a 7.36 ERA in four regular-season games against LG this year, pitched hard in Game 1 of the Korean Series with seven hits, two outs, three strikeouts and two runs (one earned run). After winning the first game, KT manager Lee Kang-chul said, "I think Ko Young-pyo thought differently and went in today. We overcame the initial crisis well. Cuevas must be thinking a lot, too. We talked about many things. I'm looking forward to it. We have to trust Cuevas anyway," he said, expressing trust.

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