Kiwoom Heroes beat KT Wiz to advance to next round of playoffs

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Kiwoom Heroes beat KT Wiz to advance to next round of playoffs

Song Sung-mun of the Kiwoom Heroes celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the KT Wiz during fourth inning of Game 5 of the first round of the KBO playoffs at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul on Saturday.  [YONHAP]

Song Sung-mun of the Kiwoom Heroes celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the KT Wiz during fourth inning of Game 5 of the first round of the KBO playoffs at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul on Saturday. [YONHAP]

 
The Kiwoom Heroes came through when it mattered on Saturday to beat the reigning champion KT Wiz in a crucial rubber match to win the first round of the KBO playoffs.
 
It was a low-scoring affair at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul, with the Heroes edging out the Wiz 4-3 in a nail-biter of a pitchers’ duel that could have gone either way.
 
The Wiz got off to a fast start on the road, scoring at the top of the first inning when Anthony Alford brought home lead-off man Bae Jung-dae for an early lead.
The Heroes tied things up in the second, with a Jeon Byeong-woo triple bringing home Yasiel Puig from second base. But the score wasn’t tied for long and it was again Alford who delivered, putting the Wiz ahead again in the third inning with a solo home run.
 
The tables turned in the fourth at the hands of Song Sung-mun, known at Gocheok as “Mr October,” with a two-run homer that put the Heroes ahead for the first time.
 
The Heroes added a crucial insurance run in the fifth, when Wiz starter Wes Benjamin through a wild pitch with the bases loaded, holding off the Wiz even with another run crossing the plate for the visitors in the eighth.
 
Both teams fielded the starters that had proved the most dangerous in the series so far. Benjamin, although he made a critical mistake on Saturday, had pitched seven scoreless innings to lead the Wiz to victory on Monday.
 
An Woo-jin, who started for the Heroes, had pitched six scoreless innings against the Wiz in Game 1 the previous Sunday, went on to be voted series MVP after giving up just two earned runs over 12 innings pitched while striking out 17 across the two games.
 
With the win, the Heroes now advance to the second round of the playoffs where they will face the LG Twins starting Monday.
 
The first two games of the Seoul derby series will be played at LG’s Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul on Monday and Tuesday, before traveling across town to play at Gocheok on Thursday and, if needed, Friday. If a fifth game is required, it will be played in Jamsil on Sunday.
 
With 87 wins and 55 losses, the Twins have had a dominant season and maintain a winning head-to-head record against every other KBO team except the SSG Landers and, surprisingly, the eighth-place Lotte Giants.
 
The Twins ended the season with 10 wins and six losses against the Heroes, beating them 6-3 in their most recent game on Sept. 9.
 
The winner of that series will move on to face the pennant-winning Landers in the Korean Series, kicking off on Nov. 1 and finishing by Nov. 9 at the earliest.
 
The Wiz, who entered this year’s playoffs after finishing fourth in the regular season standings, have now missed out on the chance to defender their Korean Series title. The Suwon club won the championship for the first time last season, but had to play through the playoffs from the Wildcard — where they beat the Kia Tigers — this year.
 
Of the three remaining clubs, the Landers have won the most Korean Series, at four, followed by the Twins with two. The Heroes are yet to win the title.
 
The Landers, who were founded in 2000, won most recently in 2018. The Twins, one of the original KBO teams founded in 1982, have not won since 1994. The Heroes have never won, but they have seen some Korean Series action more recently than either of the other clubs, finishing runner-up to the Doosan Bears in 2019.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]
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