KT is now aiming for the fifth spot in fall baseball.

They gave up eight runs, but scored 12 to win, and all 12 came in the top of the eighth inning. After an unbelievable comeback, KT is now aiming for the fifth spot in fall baseball.

The KT Wiz of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) won the 10th game of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League against the Kiwoom Heroes 12-8 in a come-from-behind victory at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on April 18.

KT’s trusted homegrown ace, Ko Young-pyo, gave up five runs in the first two innings to blow an early lead. After giving up back-to-back singles to Song Sung-moon and Kim Hye-sung with runners on first and third in the top of the first inning, he walked Won Sung-joon to load the bases, then gave up back-to-back singles to Song Sung-moon and Kim Hye-sung with runners on first and second in the bottom of the inning.

The bats remained scoreless until the top of the seventh inning against Kiwoom. They had runners on first and third with nobody out in the second and third innings and runners on second and third with nobody out in the top of the seventh, but were unable to capitalize. The offense struggled against Ha Young-min (6 innings, 3 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, no runs) and Yang Ji-yul (1 inning, 1 hit, no runs). In the bottom of the seventh inning, pitcher Lee Sang-dong gave up a three-run homer to left field off Kim Gun-hee with runners on first and second, extending the score to 8-0.

Just when everyone thought it was over, KT suddenly began to work its magic.

In the top of the eighth, pinch-hitter Kim Min-hyuk drew a walk and Mel Rojas Jr. followed with an RBI double. Kwon Dong-jin drew a straight bunt, Oh Jae-il walked to load the bases, Kang Hyun-woo drew a bases-loaded walk, and Choi Jae-dae hit a sacrifice fly to center field to make it 8-3.

KT loaded the bases again in the top of the ninth with a walk to Moon Sang-chul, followed by consecutive singles by Kang Baek-ho and Kwon Dong-jin. 파워볼실시간 Oh Jae-il struck out on a three-pitch wild pitch and faced the prospect of losing with one out, but Kang Hyun-woo drew a bases-loaded walk and then Choi Jae-dae hit a thrilling grand slam to left center off Kiwoom’s Kim Sung-min. It turned an 0-8 deficit into an 8-8 tie.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, KT overcame a one-out, two-out situation to extend the game. In the top of the 10th inning, KT’s firepower continued to burn brightly. After leadoff hitter Shim Woo-jun reached second base on a bunt and a throwing error by the third baseman, Kim Min-hyuk helped Shim advance to third on a grounder to center field. Moon Sang-cheol, the right-handed slugger who drove in Park Byung-ho for the Samsung Lions, then hit a dramatic two-run homer to left field off Kim Dong-wook, the game-winning hit.

KT didn’t stop there, as Kang Baek-ho walked, Kwon Dong-jin singled, and Oh Jae-il walked again to load the bases, and then Kang Hyun-woo drew a walk and Jeong Jae-dae hit a sacrifice fly to seal the deal.

In the bottom of the 10th inning,

KT closer Park Young-hyun gave up back-to-back singles to Song Sung-moon and Ko Young-woo to put runners on first and second, but he got Choi Joo-hwan to fly out to center field and Won Sung-joon to ground out to end the game.

With the magic, KT has now won five straight games, nine straight against Kiwoom and five straight at Gocheok Sky Dome to improve to 44-2 and 46-46 on the season. They are in seventh place, 1.5 games behind the fifth-place NC Dinos.

KT, which was considered a favorite to win the title along with the Kia Tigers and LG Twins before the season, suffered the humiliation of falling to last place in the standings in mid-April amid a string of injuries to its starting lineup. Despite the return of injured players one by one, the team has been unable to rebound as the KBO has seen an epic battle for the top 10 spots. As of June 30, KT was ranked ninth, the second-lowest among the 10 teams.

KT used the Winning Series against the Suwon Lotte Giants on June 18-20 as a turning point. It then reeled off five consecutive winning series against LG, SSG, Samsung, and Hanwha, winning one game against Doosan, two against Lotte, and a series sweep against Kiwoom. It was their first three-game sweep in about three months since April 23-25 against Suwon Hanwha.

From June 18 to the day before, KT was the best team in the KBO.

It has won 16 games, drawn one and lost five in 22 matches during that period, posting the only seven-percent winning percentage (.762). That’s a much higher winning percentage than second-place KIA (13 wins, 1 draw, and 7 losses). As a result, KT has turned around its fortunes, closing to within 1.5 games of fifth place with 52 games left in the season. KT had a magical journey from last place to second place last year, and there are signs of that happening again this year.

KT begins a three-game series at home against fifth-ranked NC on the 19th that could decide the outcome of the mid-table battle. With Uhm Sang-baek (KT) and Kyle Hart (NC) set to start on the first day, it will be interesting to see if KT can extend their five-game winning streak and break into the top five.

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