KT Wiz faces tough week after beating Tigers thrice

When the KT Wiz joined the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) league this year, it was widely expected the Suwon-based club would be in last place. Some fans even expected a 100-loss season.

Through the end of May, the Wiz had only a .192 winning percentage with 10 wins and 42 losses. But from June, it transformed into a different team, collecting 15 wins and 13 losses with a winning percentage of .313.

Last week, the Wiz finally collected a win against the Kia Tigers. Before Friday, the Wiz had lost all eight encounters against the Tigers, but they swept the three-game series against the Gwangju-based club over the weekend at home, scoring a total 31 runs.

The Wiz’s exciting run is led by its offense, but it’s now looking to reinforce its pitching. Hoping to improve its league-worst 5.64 ERA, it replaced Phil Irwin with new starting pitcher Justin Germano. The 32-year-old right-hander already has KBO experience, going 5-1 with 2.78 ERA with Samsung Lions in 2011. He is expected to play this week.

The Wiz, however, has a tough week ahead of it. The team travels to Changwon to face league No.2 NC Dinos from Tuesday before meeting league No. 1 Samsung Lions.

Meanwhile, the Tigers will look to end its four-game losing streak this week against the Nexen Heroes and SK Wyverns. The LG Twins, swept by the Lions over the weekend, is also looking to rebound against the Lotte Giants and Hanwha Eagles at home.

BY JOO KYUNG-DON [joo.kyungdon@joongang.co.kr]