There’s one last game left to decide who gets a ticket to the Korean Series. The protagonists are NC and KT.
On May 5, KT Wiz Park in Suwon will host Game 5 of the 2023 KBO Postseason Playoffs (best-of-five, best-of-three) between the NC Dinos and KT Wiz. The two teams are currently tied at 2-2 in the series.
It was NC who took the lead in the series. Finishing fourth in the regular season with 75 wins, two draws and 67 points, NC defeated the fifth-place Doosan Bears (74 wins, two draws and 68 points) and third-place SSG Landers (76 wins, three draws and 65 points) without a single loss in the Wild Card Decider (two wins for fourth place) and Semi-Finals (best-of-five), respectively. The momentum carried them to victory in both the first and second rounds of the playoffs, which were played on enemy soil.
However, KT, who finished second with 79 wins, three draws, and 62 losses, was no slouch either. The series is now tied at 2-2, with KT winning both the third and fourth games away from home. As such, the winner of today’s game will head to the Korean Series where the first-place LG Twins (86 wins, 2 draws, 56 losses) await.
Looking to rebound, NC will start right-hander Shin Min-hyuk in place of super ace Eric Peddie, who went 20-6 with 209 strikeouts and a 2.00 ERA in 30 regular-season games (180.1 innings) this season. This is because Peddy is not 100 percent.
After Game 4 of the playoffs, NC manager Kang Myung-hwa said, “Pedi’s condition is not 100%. I’m thinking about it. Shin Min-hyuk is not bad either. I’ll check his physical condition tomorrow morning and decide on the 4th.” In the end, Shin Min-hyuk was selected to start Game 5.
Shin is a pitcher who has stepped up his game this fall. Drafted by NC with the 49th overall pick in the second round of the 2018 Draft, he has only gone 20-23 with a 4.46 ERA in 102 games (427.1 innings pitched) so far this year, but has been on fire in the postseason. 토토사이트
After starting the first round of the semifinals against SSG on March 22 and pitching 5.2 innings of one-hit ball with three strikeouts in NC’s 4-3 win, Shin pitched the second round of the playoffs against KT on March 31, pitching 6.1 innings of one-hit ball with two strikeouts in NC’s 3-2 win. With the bullpen struggling due to repeated blood clots, NC needs Shin’s strong performance. Shin also faced KT five times in the regular season this year, going 2-2 with a 3.70 ERA.
However, the bullpen and batting order are not in good shape. First and foremost, the health of the players is key. After being in a fierce third-place battle with SSG from the end of the regular season, NC has been playing a grueling schedule, starting with the first game of the Wild Card Decider. At this point, NC’s players are mostly depleted.