KT Cuevas to start Game 4 on three days’ rest… NC to start Song Myung-Ki
KT Wiz and NC Dinos will face off in Game 4 of the best-of-three playoffs (PO-5) between KT foreign ace William Cuevas (33) and NC right-hander Song Myung-ki (23).
KT and NC will send out William Cuevas and Song Myung-ki, respectively, as the starting pitchers for Game 4 of the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank Shootout KBO PO’ at NC Park in Changwon on Wednesday.
After losing Games 1 and 2 of the PO, KT won Game 3 to take the series to a best-of-four series. Cuevas’ shoulders are a little heavier as he’ll be pitching in a team at a disadvantage. He also has the added variable of starting after three days of rest.
Cuevas, who has been with KT since 2019, left the KBO early last season due to an elbow injury. He then played in the Mexican League and with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization before reuniting with KT in June as a replacement foreign pitcher for Bo Schuler.
In his return, Cuevas pitched in 18 games, 먹튀검증토토사이트 going 12-0 with a 2.60 ERA and leading the team to a second-place finish in the regular season.
Cuevas also pitched impressively in fall ball. In two PO games in 2020,
He pitched 8⅔ innings of four-hit ball (one home run) with one walk and three runs allowed, and in Game 1 of the 2021 Korean Series (KS-7) against the Doosan Bears, he pitched 7⅔ innings of one-run ball to showcase his ace-like majesty.
Cuevas, who made one start against NC in the regular season this year and tossed six innings of two-run ball, fell apart in Game 1 of the PO. He gave up seven runs (four earned) on six hits (one home run) and two walks in three innings and suffered his first postseason loss.
After Game 3, KT manager Lee Kang-cheol said, “As soon as Game 1 ended, I told Cuevas to prepare for Game 4 because the number of pitches (75) was appropriate. There were one or two things I checked, so I told him.”
NC’s Game 4 starting pitcher Song Myung-ki took the mound for the first time in 10 days. After Game 3 of the PO, NC manager Kang In-hwa said, “Song Myung-ki’s physical condition is not bad at the moment.”
This season,
Song Myung-ki, who has been split between the starting rotation and the middle, has appeared in 35 games, posting a 4-9 record with a 4.83 ERA. He was in the starting rotation until mid-May, when he was unable to get the job done and was moved to the bullpen. In October, he pitched three games and 7⅔ innings, allowing eight hits (two home runs) and six runs (four earned).
His performance against KT this year hasn’t changed much from the regular season. In three appearances, he has one loss and a 4.76 ERA. He gave up three runs in 4⅓ innings in a start in July, but followed that up with a 6⅔-inning, two-run outing a month later.
He’s made three postseason appearances. Two in the 2020 KS and one in this year’s semi-playoffs (best-of-5).
In Game 4 of the KS against the Doosan Bears, he pitched five innings of two-hit, two-strikeout ball to earn the win, and in Game 6 of the KS, he pitched one scoreless inning in relief to earn the save.
However, in his first appearance in fall baseball this year, he struggled with his pitches in the second game of the semifinals against the SSG Landers, giving up two runs on three hits (one home run) and four walks in three innings.