It was like watching two Oh Seung-hwan’s back to back. KT Wiz’s bullpen dominated Game 1 of the Korean Series with quality over quantity.

KT won Game 1 of the Korean Series against the LG Twins 3-2 on Sunday at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. The game-winning hit came from Moon Sang-chul. In the top of the ninth inning, he hit a timely double off the fence that knocked out LG closer Ko Woo-seok.

Moon was named the Daily MVP, but the real MVP was KT’s ironclad bullpen. After starting pitcher Ko Young-pyo pitched six innings with two runs (one earned), the bullpen was activated in the seventh inning.

The second pitcher out was the playoff series MVP, Son Dong-hyun. KT manager Lee Kang-cheol pushed him for two innings. In the bottom of the seventh inning, LG’s offense went to the center field, starting with the number two hitter, Park Hae-min. 먹튀검증 Facing the order of Park Hae-min, Kim Hyun-soo, and Austin Dean, Son threw a total of 11 pitches, 10 of which were strikes, with the exception of a three-pitch fastball to Austin that was slightly off.

He got Park Hae-min to fly out to center field and Kim Hyun-soo to strike out swinging before getting Austin to ground out to short. He was confident against Austin. He drove it right down the middle of the strike zone. The only pitch that made it to the plate was the one that missed by a fraction of an inch. After hitting the last four balls for a 145-kilometer strike, Son made his way to the bench without looking back. He was so confident in his pitches.

In the bottom of the eighth inning,

Son continued to pitch, striking out Oh Ji-hwan, Moon Bo-kyung, and Park Dong-won. It was a flawless pitch. Even though he threw two innings, his pitch count was 22, which was never too much.

LG’s offense went cold as Son Dong-hyun overwhelmed the LG bats with his best pitches. LG had several chances to win the game on the day, but they were unable to capitalize on them as KT bombed at every key opportunity.

In the top of the ninth inning, KT regained the lead at 3-2 after Moon Sang-chul’s game-winning hit. In the top of the ninth, KT’s bullpen had set-up man Park Young-hyun and closer Kim Jae-yoon warming up. The “rising star” who has emerged as the core of KT’s bullpen this year and the veteran closer who recorded 32 saves in the regular season were ready to pitch at the same time.

Unfortunately, KT’s offense ended with only one run in the ninth inning. Manager Lee Kang-cheol chose Park Young-hyun over Kim Jae-yoon in the save situation. It was a cold and calculated choice. Normally, it would be a good idea to bring in the closer to save the day, but the Korean Series should be more clear-cut. At this point, it made more sense to have Park Young-hyun, who has a dominant pitch count, close.

Park lived up to his manager’s expectations.

LG’s last three batters, Moon Seong-joo, Shin Min-jae, and Hong Chang-gi, were unable to get anything going and the game was over. Park didn’t show any signs of nerves in his first Korean Series start and threw a fastball.

It was like watching Little Oh Seung-hwan for the second time in a row in Game 1. Even if KT doesn’t win the championship, the discovery of Son Dong-hyun and Park Young-hyun is the best thing to happen this year. Lee Kang-cheol explained why he chose Young-hyun first: “I wanted to go without a fixed finish. I couldn’t help but think about extra innings today,” but the pitching specialist’s calm judgment led to a clean Game 1 victory.