“It was probably my mistake.”
KT Wiz manager Lee Kang-cheol reflected on his ninth-inning ejection.
KT lost 7-8 in Game 3 of the best-of-five Korean Series (KS-7) of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Postseason against the LG Twins at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Tuesday. After winning Game 1, the team suffered back-to-back upset losses in Game 2 and Game 3.
Their chances of winning the championship, which had soared to 74.4% after winning Game 1, dropped to 15%. Historically, the team that won Game 1 has gone on to win the championship 29 out of 39 times (74%), but the team that lost Game 3 after winning Game 1 (including draws) has won only 3 out of 20 times.
Wes Benjamin, the “LG nemesis,” gave up a three-run homer to Austin Dean in the third inning, and even after rallying to make it 5-4, Son Dong-hyun gave up a two-run homer to Park Dong-won in the sixth. In the bottom of the eighth, Hwang Jae-gyun’s tying RBI single and Park Byung-ho’s game-winning homer put the game out of reach, but in the top of the ninth, Kim Jae-yoon gave up a three-run homer to Oh Ji-hwan.
KT tried to fight back in the bottom of the ninth by pulling out the pinch-hitter card. One out later, they used their pinch-hitter Kim Jun-tae. But that’s when manager Lee Kang-cheol was ejected. Lee Kang-cheol protested the call that Kim Jun-tae’s check swing had turned, and the umpire ordered Lee to leave the game. However, according to the broadcasters’ slow picture, the bat did not turn. It was an incorrect call.
After the manager’s ejection, KT had a chance to load the bases with a hit by pitch from Kim Jun-tae, a hit and run from Jung Jun-young, and an intentional walk from Choi Jae-dae, but Kim Sang-soo was retired on a wild pitch.
When asked after the game, KT manager Lee Kang-cheol explained the ejection with the simple words, “It must have been my mistake.”
“The players played a good game, but the luck went in favor of LG,” Lee said, adding, “Anthony Alford and Byung-ho Park (who went hitless in eight at-bats) came alive as a whole. We prepared well and will do well from tomorrow.”
Lee Sang-dong, who appeared after Son Dong-hyun, pitched two scoreless innings. Lee Kang-chul said, “There is (a doctor’s) decision” to use Lee 메이저토토사이트 Sang-dong as the closer. Lee named Uhm Sang-baek as the starter for Game 4.