“Young-pyo Ko pitched well, sacrificing himself for the team.”
KT won 6-2 against NC in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ at Changwon NC Park on the 13th. The win was their second straight and improved their season record to 67 wins, 3 draws, and 53 losses, closing the gap to third-place NC by 1.5 games.
Prior to this game, Ko had faltered in his last two outings, allowing 12 runs in 11 innings. It was a crucial start to turn the tide for the team and individual players in the fierce standings battle. Young-pyo Ko pitched a great game and set the stage for the victory. His final line was 6 innings, 9 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts, and 2 earned runs, giving him a quality start (6 innings of 3 earned runs or less).
The third pitcher, Park Young-hyun, retired the next three batters in order in the bottom of the eighth inning, Park Gun-woo (swinging strikeout), Martin (groundout to right field), and pinch-hitter Han Seok-hyun (groundout to shortstop) to record his 30th strikeout of the season. He surpassed the previous record of Han Hyun-hee (2014 season, 21 years, 3 months, 20 days) to become the youngest KBO player to reach 30 in 19 years, 11 months, and 2 days.
At the plate, Jang Sung-woo had a three-hit game, while Choi Jae-dae had a multi-hit game and Alford had two hits and two RBIs to fuel the offense.
Alford, in particular, drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the third inning with a 1-1 count, then followed it up with an RBI single in his fourth at-bat.
KT manager Lee Kang-cheol said after the game, “Ko Young-pyo threw a lot of pitches early on, but he sacrificed himself for the team with 사설토토 minimal runs. Son Dong-hyun, Park Young-hyun, and Lee Sang-dong also did a good job at the end. Congratulations to Young-hyun Park for becoming the youngest player to reach 30 holds.”
“In the batting order, Kim Min-hyuk and Alford set the tone early with back-to-back singles. After that, Alford’s RBI single brought us back into the game in the second half. In the eighth inning, Jang Sung-woo created a chance with a walk and Kim Sang-soo delivered the game-winning hit. Jang worked well with Ko Young-pyo and got the stolen base when it mattered. “The players were focused and did a good job, and I’m grateful to the fans who supported us until the end,” he said after the victory.