'Back-to-back appearances, again and again' — Japanese Asian quota pitcher's devotion leads to KBO debut win after 99 days! The eldest teammate was the first to offer congratulations, while a foreign investor secured the commemorative ball.

*This content was translated by AI.

The KT Wiz team rushed over to celebrate the first win of a pitcher with an ERA in the 5th-point range. Kouki Sugimoto (26), Japan’s Asian quota player, achieved his emotional KBO debut victory.

On the 5th at Suwon KT Wiz Park during the home game against Lotte Giants in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season, Sugimoto took the mound in the top of the 8th inning and pitched one scoreless inning with no walks and one strikeout, contributing to KT’s 4-2 victory and ending their three-game losing streak.

As expected from a pitcher in the winning situation, he appeared during a critical moment. With both teams tied at 2-2 in the top of the 8th, Sugimoto faced Lotte’s cleanup batters. Coordinating with catcher Cho Dae-hyun, he allowed a single to Han Dong-hee off a ground ball to right field early on. However, runner Kim Dong-hyeok was thrown out at second base by Cho Dae-hyun.

Sugimoto also showed his strength. Using a cutter inside, he induced a swing-and-miss from Na Seung-yeop and then dropped a slider in a similar location to record a strikeout. He followed up by getting Jang Du-seong out on a shortstop ground ball, setting the stage for the comeback.

After Kim Hyun-soo hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the bottom of the 8th and closer Park Young-hyun held off Lotte without allowing any runs in the 9th, Sugimoto finally tasted the joy of his first KBO victory after 99 days since his debut.

After the game, Sugimoto said, “I wasn’t in great condition today (on the 5th), but Cho Dae-hyun helped me by catching a stolen base, and I received a lot of support from my fielding teammates.”

Once KT’s victory was confirmed, Sugimoto was showered with congratulations from his teammates. Grateful for their support, Sugimoto smiled and said, “After securing the first win, Woo Gyu-min was the first to congratulate me. Caleb Bossley even brought me a ball as a sign of encouragement.”

There was a reason why eldest teammate Woo Gyu-min (41) and foreign pitcher Caleb Bossley (33) took such care of him. Sugimoto is KT’s first-ever Japanese Asian quota player.

Introduced as a typical Japanese pitcher with a fastball reaching up to 95 mph, along with a slider and forkball, he came from the independent league in Japan. However, since this was his first experience on the professional stage, he faced many challenges, including playing before a full house crowd and dealing with significant level differences. Moreover, as it was his first time in Korea, he also had to adapt to the local culture.

There were many ups and downs. He was switched from starter to reliever midway through the season and even spent time in the minor league after being hit on his right arm by a batted ball. With other relief pitchers struggling, there was no opportunity for him to adjust comfortably.

Despite this, he kept pitching steadily. As of the end of the July 5th game, Sugimoto’s total of consecutive appearances tied with four other players for first place in the league. Among those five, only Sugimoto and his teammate Jeon Yong-ju (26) had made three consecutive appearances twice or more. Even with continuous back-to-back outings, Sugimoto maintained the lead in at least eight out of ten games (a save rate of 81.8%), playing a major role in KT’s battle for first place.

In 40 games, he recorded one win, two losses, nine holds, an ERA of 5.62, pitched 41⅔ innings with 36 strikeouts, posted a WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) of 1.58, and allowed a batting average against of 0.313. Despite these disappointing statistics, the KT team still rushed to congratulate him as if he were their top performer.

Sugimoto stated, “My duty is to keep every inning scoreless. I believe records will follow naturally. If I learned a lot during the first half of the KBO League season, I will work hard in the second half to create more scoreless games.”

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*This content was translated by AI.