KT WIZ took a sweep of the Doosan Bears in a three-game series behind homegrown ace Ko Young-pyo, who extended his streak of quality starts (QS-6 innings or less) to 10 games.
KT won 3-1 against visiting Doosan in the Korea Baseball Organization 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Saturday.
After having its seven-game winning streak snapped the day before, KT continued its upward trajectory with another win.
KT took the lead in the top of the first inning thanks to a focused batting lineup.
Leadoff hitter Kim Min-hyuk drew a walk off Doosan starter Kwak Bin, and Lee Ho-yeon and Hwang Jae-gyun followed with back-to-back singles to make it 1-0.
With runners on first and third, Anthony Alford's infield grounder allowed Lee to score from third.
Ko Young-pyo, with a lighter shoulder, shut down the opposing lineup.
He struck out Kim Jae-hwan with runners on first and second in the first inning and got out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning by striking out Kang Seung-ho and Jang Seung-hyun.
He didn't allow a run in the third inning with runners on first and second and in the fifth inning with runners on first and second.
Ko Young-pyo gave up his first run in the sixth inning. After giving up a leadoff double to Jose Rojas to the right side of the infield, Kim Jae-hwan's infield grounder put runners at second and third.
Ko Young-pyo threw a one-base ball to Kim In-tae, and the catcher failed to block it, allowing Rojas to score from third base.
Down 2-1, KT immediately scored a run to get back in the game.
In the top of the seventh inning, Choi Jae-dae hit a double to left field and moved to third on a walk by Kwak Bin.
Kim Min-hyuk then scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1.
Ko Young-pyo took the mound in the bottom of the seventh and continued to fight back. He gave up a walk to Kang Seung-ho and a single to Heo 토토 Kyung-min to put runners on second and third, but he got Jung Soo-bin to fly out to left field to end the threat.
After getting out of the jam, KT brought in set-up man Park Young-hyun in the eighth and closer Kim Jae-yoon in the ninth to close out the game.
Ko pitched seven innings of six-hit ball, striking out five and walking one to improve to 10-5 on the season and extend his double-digit win streak to three years.
He lowered his ERA to 2.44, moving into sole possession of third place in the conference.
He continued his streak of complete games since June 6 against the Lotte Giants and has now earned a QS in 16 of his 19 starts this season.
Doosan starter Kwak Bin took the loss despite pitching well, giving up three runs on six hits with eight strikeouts and two walks in seven innings.