The winner of the 'Kang Baekho Series' is KT's third consecutive victory! Roh Sihwan, KKKKK, "Hanwha's first loss." [Daejeon site review]

*This content was translated by AI.

"Kang Baekho series."

This is the nickname attached to the three consecutive games between Hanwha Eagles and KT Wiz, which will be held at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon this week (31st to April 2nd). Kang Baek-ho (27), who played only for KT for eight years since his debut in 2018, signed a free agent (FA) contract with Hanwha for up to 10 billion won for four years and changed his uniform ahead of this season.

Kang Baek-ho faced KT, his former team, for the first time since his transfer on the 31st. There was no face-off between the two teams in the exhibition game earlier. He, who started as the fifth designated hitter, bowed deeply to KT fans in the third-base stands as he entered the batter's box as the first batter in the bottom of the second inning.

Then, he immediately hit a heavy hit from KT starter Boschley, but he failed to score a point due to a failure of a follow-up hit. After that, he struck out two and a fly to the third base, followed by a heavy hit in the bottom of the ninth inning, but it did not affect the game much.

The match between the two teams, which won two consecutive games over the weekend, was decided by the joy and sorrow of the starting pitcher. KT won 9-4 amid starter Boschley's five scoreless innings, winning three consecutive games since the opening. On the other hand, Hanwha suffered its first loss of the season, with two decisive wild pitches and three errors while bullpen pitchers rushed to the mound twice due to relief pitcher Um Sang-baek's headshot Red Card following the sudden injury of starter White.

KT won the first run in the first inning when White threw a wild pitch at Ahn Hyun-min's at-bat with one out and third base made by leadoff batter Choi Won-joon's double to right center and Kim Hyun-soo's grounder to shortstop. In the fifth inning, Jang Sung-woo and Kim Sang-soo added one more point with consecutive doubles, and Ahn Hyun-min's two-run double and an opponent's wild pitch added three more points in the seventh inning with the bases loaded with two outs.

In the eighth inning, lead Jang Sung-woo hit his first solo home run of the season from relief Won Jong-hyuk. When Hanwha chased 6-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning, KT added three more runs in the top of the ninth inning with Hilliard's two-run triple and Jang Sung-woo's sacrifice fly to break the opponent's willingness to chase.

Boschley won his KBO League debut with 92 pitches and five hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts in five innings. He cooked the Hanwha lineup by throwing the most (34) two-seam fastballs (34) with a maximum speed of 148 kilometers per hour. He gave up a hit to Oh Jae-won and Moon Hyun-bin in the first inning, facing a crisis of first and third base, but Moon Hyun-bin failed to steal second base due to Noh Si-hwan's strikeout, ending the inning without a run. In the second inning, following Kang Baek-ho's hit, third baseman Huh Kyung-min's error when Chae Eun-sung grounded out, but he showed off his crisis management ability to catch the next three batters with a groundout to first base, strikeout and second base fly.

Hanwha had difficulty operating the mound due to a series of unexpected situations. White was hurt in his left thigh in the top of the third inning when Hilliard grounded out to first base in a crisis of 1st and 2nd base with no outs and a runner on the top of the 3rd inning, while spreading his legs wide back and forth. White, who was helped out to the dugout, finished his first KBO league game with four hits, one walk, two strikeouts and one run (57 pitches) in two ⅓ innings. Kang Jae-min, who took the mound in a hurry, treated Jang Sung-woo with a straight hit to shortstop and Heo Kyung-min with a ground ball to shortstop, so he did not lose a point.

In the fifth inning, Um Sang-baek was hit by a headshot Red Card during Huh Kyung-min's at-bat. At a ball count of 0-1, a 146km/h fastball hit Heo Kyung-min's helmet in front. Heo Kyung-min, who collapsed on the ground with his glasses and helmet off, was immediately replaced and moved to the hospital. Yoon San-heum took the mound instead of Um Sang-baek, who left the mound. Yoon San-heum faced a crisis of first and second bases with no outs in the sixth inning due to a walk and shortstop error, but he flew out Hilliard, Jang Sung-woo and Kim Sang-soo one after another.

Hanwha's Heo In-seo hit his first home run in 31 games since his debut in 2022. In the eighth inning, he drew a two-run arch to the left from Sugimoto with two outs and a runner on first base. With two outs and runners on first and second bases, Peraza hit a two-run double to right field. Oh Jae-won, a high school rookie center fielder, succeeded in fourth base with two hits and two walks. On the other hand, No. 4 hitter Noh Si-hwan was silent with four strikeouts in four scoring chances and struck out even when he came out as the first batter in the bottom of the ninth inning.

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*This content was translated by AI.