It was a hard-fought victory. Every game of the NC Dinos' fall baseball is about Lee Yong-chan. It is adding to the fun of watching.
NC won the second game of the playoffs against KT Wiz 3-2 at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Oct. 31. It was Chungeum's second straight win away from home. They are now one win away from advancing to the Korean Series.
NC won the first game relatively easily thanks to Pedi. In the second game, KT's resistance was strong. After failing to capitalize on Shin Min-hyuk in the early innings, KT pounded the NC bullpen in the late innings to keep the game close. 카지노사이트
NC faced a major crisis in the eighth inning. After giving up a walk to pinch-hitter Shin Min-hyuk, Choi Jae-dae singled. An error by left fielder Kwon Hee-dong put runners on second and third. NC manager Kang Myung-ho got Lim Jung-ho to hit a sacrifice fly to end the threat.
Kim Sang-soo and Hwang Jae-gyun followed with right-handed batters. Manager Kang pulled out a game-winner. He brought in closer Lee Yong-chan in the eighth inning. It's not uncommon to bring in a closer early.
However, Yong-chan was a different story. He had been in an extreme slump since the end of the regular season. In the postseason, he had a shaky start. It's a shame because the game wasn't over, but he kept giving up hits. He gave up a walk-off home run in the ninth inning of Game 1 a day earlier.
But with Ryu Jin-wook as their most reliable reliever, NC had no choice. It was Lee Yong-chan.
This day was no different. In the eighth inning, he gave up a single to Kim Sang-soo. He gave up a hit to Hwang Jae-gyun, but got out of the jam by striking out Alford on a forkball.
The real crisis came in the ninth inning. Park Byung-ho and Jang Jang-woo singled to put runners on first and third. It was KT's best chance to at least tie the game and possibly pull off the upset.
NC had no pitcher to change. They had to trust Lee Yong-chan. Lee was calm. He took the count, relaxed with his fastball, and struck out Moon Sang-chul with a forkball. Kim Jun-tae was also hit by a forkball and struck out looking.
The batting order was a high four-seamer. The final batter was Oh Yoon-seok. He almost gave a pushing dune. The ball was dangerously close to the body, but Lee Yong-chan calmly sprayed the ball and induced Oh Yoon-seok to hit it wide. Shortstop Kim Joo-won threw his body to catch the ball. A perfect save. Anyway, if Yong-chan comes out, NC wins.