KT Wiz is set to face Doosan Bears in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League (Game 16) at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 10th. It is the final game of the season for KT, which played 143 games.
KT, which had been in last place until early June with a win-loss margin of -14, is on the verge of going straight to the playoffs with a miraculous rebound. After breaking the three-game losing streak with a victory over Suwon KIA on the 4th, he has been on the rise with four wins and one loss in the last five games, reducing the magic number, which was confirmed in second place in the regular season. If they beat Doosan, which is ranked third, they can finish the 144 games in a good mood while confirming the second place.
However, the prospects for winning the final match are not bright. KT’s proud Benjamin, Ko Young-pyo, and Um Sang-baek are all recovering from injuries, so he took out another alternative starting card following Kim Min against Hanwha in Suwon on the 7th. Joey Hyun (28), who also started as a substitute against Suwon KIA on the 5th and became a winning pitcher with two runs in five innings.
Joey Hyun was a promising hitter who received the Lee Young-min batting award during his time at Jeju High School. Since then, he was selected 47th in the second and fifth rounds of Hanwha in the 2014 Rookie Draft and turned into a pitcher, but did not see light. In the first two seasons, there were only seven games in the first division, and he had to move to the team as a compensator Jung Woo-ram, who signed an FA contract with Hanwha in December 2015. Since then, he has shown a possibility of a comeback to Sangmu, but after being discharged from the military, he suffered sluggishness and elbow injuries, and was announced on waivers by SSG clubs. The name change (Cho Young-woo → Jo Yi-hyun) also did not have much effect. 스포츠토토
KT gave a helping hand to Joey-hyun, who is on the verge of a career break. After his release, Joey-hyun, who was conducting personal training at a lesson hall run by his former colleague Jung Young-il, went to Iksan in November last year and took a test to join coach Lee Kang-chul. The result is a pass. Having played the U.S. spring camp steadily, he showed off his presence by playing in the opening two consecutive games of Suwon LG on April 1st and 2nd, and gave Eric Peddy (NC), who started against Changwon NC on the 13th and jumped to a 19th-win ace with one run in four ⅓ innings.
Jo had 17 games, two wins, one loss, and a 6.82 ERA. After his stellar performance in April, he spent a lot of time in Iksan, and returned to the first division in late August after reorganization, helping KT to secure second place. He was mainly in charge of long relief and chasing groups, but he started against Suwon KIA on the 5th and won about five months after the match against Gocheok Kiwoom on April 27th. Against Doosan this year, he pitched once in relief at Jamsil on April 21 and was shaken by three runs in two innings.
KT plans to hold a postseason kickoff ceremony with fans for the final game of the regular season. The most donors in the 2023 season will pitch and the most visitors will be in charge of the hit, and various events such as fan thank-you video screenings, team interviews, starting performances, and high fives of victory are arranged. Of course, even if they lose on this day, they are likely to confirm second place in the future as they have a four-game gap with third-place Doosan, but KT is determined to finish the season in second place on its own. Joey-hyun’s shoulders are that heavy.
Meanwhile, Doosan countered with left-hander rookie Choi Seung-yong. This year’s record was 3.10 with three wins, six losses and one save in 32 games, and he only allowed two runs in six innings against Kiwoom in Jamsil on the 3rd, his latest appearance. There has been no victory for more than two months since the match against Samsung in Jamsil on August 8. KT had one win, two losses and a 4.05 ERA in four games (starting games) this season. His most recent appearance was in Jamsil on August 4, when he pitched in relief and allowed no runs in one inning.