Heroes push Wiz to brink with breezy victory in KBO postseason

▲ Yasiel Puig of the Kiwoom Heroes celebrates his three-run home run against the KT Wiz during the top of the first inning of Game 3 of the first round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, 35 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 19, 2022. (Yonhap)

▲ Kiwoom Heroes starter Tyler Eppler pumps his fist after completing the bottom of the fifth inning against the KT Wiz in Game 3 of the first round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, 35 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 19, 2022. (Yonhap)

▲ Kim Jun-wan of the Kiwoom Heroes hits a two-run single against the KT Wiz during the top of the fourth inning of Game 3 of the first round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, 35 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 19, 2022. (Yonhap)

▲ Kiwoom Heroes shortstop Kim Whee-jip makes a diving grab on a ball hit by Anthony Alford of the KT Wiz during the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 3 of the first round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, 35 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 19, 2022. (Yonhap)

▲ Fans at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, 35 kilometers south of Seoul, take in Game 3 of the first round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason between the home team KT Wiz and the Kiwoom Heroes on Oct. 19, 2022. (Yonhap)

baseball-postseason game

Heroes push Wiz to brink with breezy victory in KBO postseason

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- The Kiwoom Heroes routed the KT Wiz 9-2 on Wednesday to move within a victory of advancing to the next series in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason, pushing the defending champions to the brink in the process.

Yasiel Puig blasted a three-run homer and drove in four runs to back a solid start by Tyler Eppler at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, south of Seoul, as the Heroes took a 2-1 series lead. Leadoff Kim Jun-wan chipped in three RBIs, and the Heroes hammered the Wiz to the tune of 16 hits.

The Heroes can finish off the Wiz in Game 4 of their best-of-five series at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, back in Suwon.

Puig gave the Heroes a 3-0 lead with one swing of the bat in the top of the first. Back-to-back singles with two outs set the table for Puig, who destroyed a 3-2 changeup from starter Ko Young-pyo and sent it deep into left field seats.

The Wiz threatened to cut into that lead in the bottom first, putting two aboard after a single and a fielding error by shortstop Sin Jun-woo. But the Wiz's two big boppers, Park Byung-ho and Jang Sung-woo, struck out and grounded out to let Eppler off the hook.

The Heroes tacked on a couple of runs in the top third, chasing Ko from the game in the process. After Lee Yong-kyu's single, Kim Hye-seong lined a base hit to left-center field. Center fielder Bae Jung-dae completely missed the ball after it bounced in front of him, and as the ball rolled to the warning track, Lee scored all the way from first while Kim advanced to third.

Odrisamer Despaigne relieved Ko, but Puig greeted him with an RBI single to open a 5-0 lead for the Heroes.

The Wiz got a run back in the bottom third, though they could have made things much closer.

Sin Jun-woo was charged with his second error of the game when he did a double pump after fielding a grounder by Bae Jung-dae, who beat the late throw to first.

Eppler couldn't pitch around the error this time, as Kang Baek-ho lined a double to right field corner to cash in Bae to make it 5-1.

Sin committed another error later in the same inning, bobbling a groundball off the bat of Anthony Alford. After a strikeout, Jang's single to shallow left loaded the bases for Kim Min-hyuck.

After a mound visit, Eppler got Kim to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play, with Sin making a perfect throw to complete the twin killing.

That missed opportunity came back to bite the Wiz, as the Heroes scored three times in the top fourth to open up an 8-1 lead.

A double, a single and a walk loaded the bases for Kim Jun-wan, who cashed in two runners with a single for a 7-1 lead. Three batters later, a fielder's choice grounder by Kim Hye-seong brought in another run.

The Heroes weren't done, with Kim Jun-wan delivering a two-out RBI single in the fifth to put his team ahead 9-1.

The Wiz left two runners stranded when Jang Sung-woo grounded into a 6-4-3 double play in the bottom fifth. They were silenced over the next three frames before eking out an inconsequential run in the ninth.

Eppler held the Wiz to one unearned run over five innings, scattering six hits and striking out five. Ko, in his first career postseason start, was shelled for five runs on six hits in 2 1/3 innings.

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