KT's Oh Won-seok, who collapsed in "seven runs in one ⅔ innings," and Kim Min-soo, who lost "two ⅓ innings," kept it... How did the 34-year-old right-hander block it with a '143km fastball'

*This content was translated by AI.

KT Wiz shared one win each with Melbourne Aces as starter Oh Won-seok (25) collapsed. However, rookie shortstop Lee Kang-min (19) and right-hander bullpen Kim Min-soo (34) shone with stable performances.

KT lost 6-12 in the second practice game against Melbourne Aces in the Australian Baseball League (ABL) at Melbourne Ballpark in Melbourne, Australia on the 20th (Korea time).

On this day, KT was sluggish with a total of six hits. While no player had a multi-hit, Han Seung-taek was the only one who reported a long hit with one hit, one walk, and one point in two at-bats. Last year, Ryu Hyun-in, the hit king of the Futures League, recorded multiple on-base hits with one hit, two RBIs and one hit in three at-bats.

Lee Kang-min stood out the most. Lee Kang-min, who also drew attention by hitting a home run in the previous game, started two consecutive games as the second batter and shortstop and scored one hit, one stolen base, and two runs in five at-bats. Lee Kang-min, who struck out and grounded out the pitcher in the first two at-bats, came out as the leadoff hitter in the sixth inning and opened the door with a large double over the left field height. After that, he stepped home when Kim Min-hyuk made a timely RBI.

In the seventh inning, he got on base due to an opponent's third baseman error and showed off his fast feet. He stole second base with two outs and runners on the first and third bases, and stepped home when Ryu Hyun-in hit a timely two-run double. In defense, he also showed a stable performance to make up for his mistakes in the last game, including a double play with second baseman Kwon Dong-jin.

The loss was largely attributed to starting pitcher Oh Won-seok's self-destruction with six hits (one homer) and two walks and seven runs in one ⅔ inning. Oh Won-seok gave two strikes to the first batter in the first inning, but gave a walk, leaving a regret. Fortunately, he caught the follow-up hitter with a 4-6-3 double play and a fly ball to second base to end the inning without losing a run. However, in the second inning, he allowed the first batter to second base with wild pitches following a hit to the left. After two outs, he got three consecutive hits from the bottom batting order and even gave up a three-run right-hander to the first batter.

Oh Won-seok rarely caught an out count. After that, he gave up a walk and a hit, and was eventually replaced by Kim Min-soo and replaced. On this day, Oh Won-seok threw a total of 47 pitches, including 25 fastballs, 10 changeups, 7 curves, and 5 cutters. The maximum speed of the fastball came out to 144km/h, but overall, it was disappointing in balance.

Kim Min-soo, who took the mound as the second pitcher, prevented a large number of runs. Kim Min-soo, who came to the second and third bases with two outs in the bottom of the second inning when KT was losing 0-5, allowed the first batter to make a timely two-run hit to the left. However, he gave up only one hit in two ⅓ innings and showed the most impressive performance with three strikeouts and no walks.

On this day, Kim Min-soo threw a total of 27 pitches, including 10 fastballs, 8 sliders, 8 cutters, and 1 change-up. The maximum speed of the fastball came up to 143km/h, and Melbourne hitters couldn't timing various pitches.

An official from the KT club said, "It has been observed that the drop in the slider ball type has increased compared to the previous one. The movement of the cutter also grew, confirming that the overall pitch value has improved compared to the previous one," he said.

Subsequently, Jeon Yong-joo made one strikeout in one inning and saved it with nine balls to save the chasing atmosphere. However, Lee Sang-dong gave up three runs on three hits (two home runs) in one inning, Won Sang-hyun gave up one run on three walks (0 earned runs) in one inning, and Son Dong-hyun continued to give up points with one hit (one home run) and one strikeout and one run in one inning.

KT, which won 8-7 in the last game, shared 1-1 with Melbourne. KT will play its last warm-up match against Melbourne on the 21st and then move to Okinawa, Japan, on the 24th for the second camp.

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*This content was translated by AI.