KT edged Samsung 8-7 in Game 1 of the Korean Series on the 3rd at KT Wiz Park in Suwon. KT led 8-0 through six innings, then gave up five runs in the seventh and was chased to the end, but closer Park Young-hyun worked 1.2 innings for the save.
According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, KT struck first for three runs in the first on a two-run double by Sam Hilliard and an infield hit by Kim Sang-su. In the third, Kim Min-hyuk doubled and Ahn Hyun-min followed with a two-run homer to left that chased Samsung starter Choi Won-tae early. A solo shot by Han Seung-taek in the fifth and a two-run homer by Kim Hyun-soo in the sixth made it 8-0.
광고 문의 · 300×250KT starter Davis Daniel was steady early. He allowed a leadoff hit in the first but escaped thanks to a fine catch by center fielder Hilliard, then retired 13 straight batters starting with the third out of the second. By the Kyunghyang’s account he went six innings with seven strikeouts, two hits, no walks and 73 pitches.
The Seventh-Inning Rally and the Ninth-Inning Wild Pitch
The game turned in the seventh. Daniel gave up a hit to Park Seung-kyu, a two-run homer to Koo Ja-wook and a hit to Diaz before leaving, and Samsung strung together five straight hits to load the bases with none out. A groundout by Ryu Ji-hyuk and a two-run double to left-center by Kim Jae-hyun brought five runs in the inning, and another run in the eighth cut the gap to two.
Park Young-hyun came in early and in the ninth, with one out and the bases loaded, threw a wild pitch that let in a run, but he then got two fly outs to the outfield to prevent the tying run. Separately, the Chosun Ilbo reported that Samsung’s Kim Young-woong, despite a costly fielding mistake in the playoffs, had a multi-hit game and reached base three times. His detailed batting line is not confirmed within the articles we reviewed.
The Kyunghyang Shinmun said KT manager Lee Kang-chul had worried about his players’ game sharpness after about three weeks without real games since the regular season ended, while Samsung manager Park Jin-man said he wanted to carry over the playoff momentum. The Game 1 winner has gone on to win the title 31 times in 42 Korean Series (73.8%). Game 2 is on the 4th at the same park, with KT’s Ko Young-pyo and Samsung’s Chris Pedek announced as starters.