Wiz rally past Heroes to stave off elimination in KBO postseason

▲ Kang Baek-ho of the KT Wiz celebrates his solo home run against the Kiwoom Heroes during the bottom of the third inning of Game 4 of the first round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, 35 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 20, 2022. (Yonhap)

▲ Anthony Alford of the KT Wiz celebrates his RBI single against the Kiwoom Heroes during the bottom of the fifth 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. 20, 2022. (Yonhap)

▲ KT Wiz starter So Hyeong-jun pitches to the Kiwoom Heroes during the top of the first inning of Game 4 of the first round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, 35 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 20, 2022. (Yonhap)

▲ Park Byung-ho of the KT Wiz heads to first after hitting a double against the Kiwoom Heroes during the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 4 of the first round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, 35 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 20, 2022. (Yonhap)

▲ Hwang Jae-gyun of the KT Wiz (L) slides home safely under the tag of Kiwoom Heroes catcher Lee Ji-young during the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 4 of the first round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, 35 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 20, 2022. (Yonhap)

baseball-postseason game

Wiz rally past Heroes to stave off elimination in KBO postseason

SUWON, South Korea, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- The KT Wiz will live to see another day in South Korean baseball postseason, after coming from behind to defeat the Kiwoom Heroes 9-6 on Thursday at home to even up their series.

Kang Baek-ho hit his first career postseason home run and scored twice for the defending Korean Series champions, while veteran Hwang Jae-gyun broke out of a slump with a two-run double at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, some 35 kilometers south of Seoul. The teams are now tied at two games apiece, with the deciding fifth game scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at the Heroes' home, Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.

KT starter So Hyeong-jun held the Heroes to two runs over six solid innings, improving to 3-0 for his postseason career.

After giving up 16 hits in a 9-2 loss Wednesday, the Wiz gave the Heroes a taste of their own medicine with 15 hits.

For the second straight game, the Heroes scored in the first inning, with Lee Jung-hoo driving home Lee Yong-kyu with a double. That hit stretched Lee Jung-hoo's postseason record hitting streak to 17 games.

The Heroes doubled their lead in the top third. With runners at the corners, Kim Hye-seong chopped a groundball to second baseman Oh Yoon-suk, who fielded the ball moving to his left but made a wide throw to first. That allowed Kim Jun-wan to trot home for a 2-0 lead.

The Wiz stranded two runners in the first and another in the second, before finally getting a run back in the third inning.

With Kiwoom starter Jeong Chan-heon pulled after two scoreless frames, Kang Baek-ho cut the deficit in half with a towering solo homer off new pitcher Han Hyun-hee. It was Kang's first career postseason home run.

The Wiz then claimed the lead with two outs in the bottom fifth. After Bae Jung-dae doubled, Han elected to walk Kang intentionally.

Anthony Alford then made the Heroes pay with a game-tying single up the middle, chasing Han from the game.

Facing reliever Choi Won-tae, cleanup Park Byung-ho dumped a single to shallow left field, and Kang slid home for a 3-2 Wiz lead.

The Wiz extended their lead with a pair of runs in the sixth. An infield single and a sacrifice bunt put a runner at second for Shim Woo-jun, who doubled in that run after a nine-pitch battle against reliever Kim Dong-hyeok.

Bae Jung-dae followed with a single to put the Wiz up 5-2.

The Heroes responded with two runs in the top seventh.

Reliever Kim Min-su hit a batter and then allowed two straight singles, the latter being Kim Jun-wan's RBI knock to right field.

The Wiz turned to 19-year-old reliever Park Yeong-hyun, who limited further damage to a sacrifice fly by Lee Jung-hoo.

But for every Heroes rally, the Wiz had an answer. They put up a three-spot in the bottom seventh. After a double and a walk, Hwang Jae-gyun delivered a double off the left field wall to open up a 7-4 lead. Hwang then slid under the tag at the plate to score on Song Min-sub's single.

Kim Whee-jip's two-run blast in the top eighth brought the Heroes within two at 8-6, but the Wiz got another run across in the bottom eighth thanks to third baseman Song Sung-mun's throwing error.

The Heroes' bullpen imploded, giving up all nine of the Wiz's runs over the final six innings.

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