KT Wiz beat SSG Landers to take final KBO postseason ticket

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KT Wiz beat SSG Landers to take final KBO postseason ticket

Published: 01 Oct. 2024, 20:53

JIM BULLEY
jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr

Mel Rojas Jr. of the KT Wiz, right, celebrates with teammate Sim Woo-jun after hitting a come-from-behind three-run home run against the SSG Landers in the fifth-place payoff game at Suwon KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Mel Rojas Jr. smacked a go-ahead three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning for a two-homer day on Tuesday as the KT Wiz rallied past the SSG Landers 4-3 to secure the final KBO postseason ticket.

With the Wiz down 3-1, Rojas stepped in with runners at the corners against Kim Kwang-hyun, a veteran Landers starter and former big leaguer making his first relief appearance in two years. At a 2-0 count, Rojas jumped on a changeup and drove it deep into the left-field seats to put the Wiz up for good.

It was Rojas who had put the Wiz on the board with a first-inning solo home run against starter Roenis Elias.

For the Landers, Choi Jeong had broken a 1-1 tie with a single in the fifth and then given his team some breathing room with a solo shot in the top eighth.

SSG Landers pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun reacts after giving up a three-run home run to Mel Rojas Jr. of the KT Wiz during the fifth-place payoff game at Suwon KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

But Kim couldn't let the lead stand. He came on with a runner on and then allowed a pinch-hit single to Oh Jae-il, before Rojas turned the game upside down with his homer.

The Landers had a tying run at third base with two outs in the top ninth, but Choi Ji-hoon struck out swinging against closer Park Yeong-hyun.

Earlier in the ninth, retiring Landers star Choo Shin-soo struck out as a pinch hitter in his final professional game. He had made his final regular-season appearance Monday night.

The Wiz immediately advance to take on the Doosan Bears in the Wildcard series, starting on Wednesday at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul.

The Wildcard series is technically a three-game series, but can only be played over a maximum of two games because the regular season fourth-place finisher enters the series with a one-game lead.

That one-game lead has proven unbeatable. Since the Wildcard was introduced in 2015, no fifth-place team has ever advanced to the postseason proper, and only twice has the series been pushed to two games: The Kia Tigers managed one win before falling to the LG Twins in 2016, and the Kiwoom Heroes managed one before falling to the Bears in 2021.

The winner of the Wildcard will advance to face the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul. The Twins share the club with the Doosan Bears, meaning that if they win the Wildcard, all five games will be played at Jamsil.

Mel Rojas Jr. of the KT Wiz rounds the bases after hitting a come-from-behind three-run home run against the SSG Landers in the fifth-place payoff game at Suwon KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

The first round will open over the weekend at Jamsil, before breaking on Oct. 7 and resuming at the home of the opposing team on Oct. 8 and, if needed, Oct. 9. If a fifth game is required, it will be back at Jamsil on Oct. 11.

The winner of that round will advance to face the Samsung Lions in the second round on Oct. 13. Also a five-game series, the second round will start at Daegu Samsung Lions Park for the opening two games, break for a day and then resume at the opposing team’s stadium, heading back to Daegu for a fifth game on Oct. 19 if needed.

Whoever makes it through that will face the Kia Tigers at Gwangju Kia Champions Field on Oct. 21 for the opening game of the 2024 Korean Series. The championship starts in Gwangju for two games on Oct. 21 and 22, moves to the second playoff winner’s stadium on Oct. 24 and 25, and then returns to Gwangju from Oct. 27 until a winner of the seven-game series is determined.

If the Lions make it through the second round of playoffs to face the Tigers in the Korean Series, it will mark the first that the championship has been played entirely out of Seoul since 2012, when the Lions beat the SK Wyverns, now the SSG Landers, and the first time outside of the greater Seoul area (which includes Incheon and Gyeonggi) since 2006, when the Lions beat the Hanwha Eagles.

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