Hero Legion has been crowned ‘King Slayer’. Kiwoom, looking to break away from the pack, secured a winless series against KT, who have a long road ahead of them to follow in the footsteps of defending champions SSG last week. It’s a real blow to the two teams that have been battling for the top spot. KT suffered their first back-to-back losses of the second half of the season, as Kiwoom put the brakes on for the second straight day.
Kiwoom won the second day of a three-game weekend series against KT in the 2023 KBO League at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea, 3-0 behind a no-hitter from starter Kim Sun-ki and a grand slam from Song Sung-moon. With the win, Kiwoom extended its winning streak to three games and moved ahead of Hanwha for ninth place.
Like the previous day, Kiwoom took the lead in the first inning. Song Sung-moon went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs, including the game-winning hit. Lee Joo-hyung, who had a three-hit, two-RBI game the day before, followed up with a 1-for-4 day at the plate.
Kiwoom opened the scoring in the top of the first inning when Kim Tae-jin led off with an infield single and Kim Hye-sung and Ronnie Dawson drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. In the next at-bat, Song Sung-moon hit a sacrifice fly to left field to bring in Kim Tae-jin. With runners on first and second, Lee Joo-hyung singled to drive in Kim Hye-sung for a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third inning, Dawson and Song Sung-moon combined for a valuable RBI single. Dawson led off with a double to left field, and Song followed with an RBI single to make it 3-0.
A no-hitter from Kiwoom starter Kim Sun-ki (32) secured the win, and the bullpen followed suit from the previous day by slamming the back door shut.
Kim pitched six innings, giving up three hits, three walks and striking out two. He kept KT’s bats in check with a mix of fastballs, sliders, and curves that topped out at 146km/h. His command was solid, with 58 strikes out of 96 total pitches. 안전놀이터
Yoon Seok-won took over the mound in the seventh inning and pitched a scoreless inning. Kiwoom’s young gun Yoon Seok-won also recorded his first hold of the day after recording his first win in his debut the day before. Ha Young-min followed with a scoreless first inning, and Kim Jae-woong took the mound in the ninth and struck out two to seal the 3-0 victory.
Meanwhile, KT’s pitching exclusivity was shaken in the early innings, and the bats went silent. The inability to find any offense led to the loss. Furthermore, they failed to capitalize on multiple scoring opportunities, including a two-out rally in the top of the sixth inning, and suffered their first back-to-back losses in the second half.