'With' sweeper showdown: Nail defeated! 2G consecutive KKKKKKK+ rapid growth, foreign investor's mustache receives praise from the commanding officer: "It gets better with each game"

*This content was translated by AI.

KT Wiz manager Lee Kang-cheol (60) praised the rapidly improving foreign investor with a mustache.

KT defeated KIA 8-3 in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season home game held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 22nd.

With this, KT secured a winning series with two consecutive victories, maintaining sole first place with 15 wins and 6 losses, half a game ahead of the second-place team.

In a showdown between new and old sweepers, KT's Matt Sauer earned a decision victory. Sauer achieved a quality start (6+ innings with 3 or fewer earned runs) with 6⅓ innings (93 pitches), 3 hits allowed (1 home run), 2 walks, 7 strikeouts, and 1 run allowed.

This marks the most innings pitched by Sauer in his KBO debut. Following him, Jeon Yong-ju pitched 0 innings allowing 1 run, Son Dong-hyun pitched ⅔ innings scoreless, and Joo Kwon pitched 2 innings scoreless, securing the KT victory.

In contrast, KIA's Nail pitched 5 innings (98 pitches), allowing 6 hits, 2 walks (1 walk, 1 hit-by-pitch), striking out 4 batters, and allowing 2 runs, failing to earn the win. KT's strategy of targeting left-handed batters from the top of the lineup to the sixth spot worked perfectly. KT's left-handed batters continuously produced hits, and even the lower-order batters used strategic plays to create a two-out, bases-loaded crisis, draining Nail's effectiveness.

After the game, KT manager Lee Kang-cheol said, "Sauer, who fulfilled his role today (22nd), showed improvement with each game, which is encouraging. I am sorry he did not secure the win. Joo Kwon also pitched well over 2 innings."

There were no significant crises. Sauer struck out the first batter, Kim Ho-ryeong, with three pitches in the first inning. He induced a double play with no outs and a runner on first in the second inning, and struck out Jung Hyun-chang with three pitches again in the third inning.

Sauer also struck out Lee Ho-yeon with 10 pitches in the third inning via a swinging strikeout and recorded a looking strikeout against Kim Do-young with a sweeper, roaring with success. Sauer, who had created three consecutive three-up, three-down innings, allowed a solo home run to Jered Dale in the sixth inning for the first time. However, he continued to strike out Kim Ho-ryeong with a swinging strikeout and induced groundouts from Lee Ho-yeon and Kim Sun-bin. After issuing a walk to Castro in the seventh inning, Sauer was replaced by Jeon Yong-ju and left the field.

After the game, Sauer said, "The score difference was minimal, so I tried to concentrate as much as possible. I believe the many supports I received from pitching coach Go Young-pyo, Je Chun-mo, and the performance analysis team before the game were effectively utilized on the mound."

On this day, Sauer threw a total of 93 pitches: 27 with the sweeper, 25 with the four-seam fastball, 19 with the two-seam fastball, 13 with the cutter, 5 with the changeup, and 4 with the curveball. His maximum velocity reached 152 km/h, and he induced 11 swinging strikes.

Following his 5⅓ innings with 8 strikeouts in the previous game (against NC on the 16th), Sauer has now recorded 7 strikeouts in two consecutive games, proving why KT signed him. He is also helping KT players adopt the sweeper, aiding them in equipping themselves with this new weapon.

Sauer said, "My sweeper's strength is its ability to secure strikes early in the count. The results of the sweeper have been good since the last game, and I am satisfied." He added, "Oh Won-seok and Boesley needed a new pitch, so we did catch practice, and I only showed them the sweeper grip. It seems they found the grip that works best for themselves and achieved good results."

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*This content was translated by AI.