"Yesterday, if Park Young-hyun had pitched, we would have been in big trouble." Manager Lee Kang-cheol sighs with relief; KT also needed rain as three bullpen pitchers were unavailable [Jamsil On-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

The same was true for KT Wiz, which had won five consecutive games and was waiting for news of rain.

On the 18th, KT announced its starting lineup for the home game against LG Twins at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium as part of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season.

KT's lineup that day featured Choi Won-jun (designated hitter), Kim Hyun-soo (first baseman), Ahn Hyeon-min (right fielder), Sam Hilliard (center fielder), Heo Kyung-min (third baseman), Kim Min-hyuk (left fielder), Kim Sang-su (second baseman), Han Seung-taek (catcher), and Kwon Dong-jin (shortstop). The starting pitcher was Matt Sauer.

In response, LG's lineup consisted of Hong Chang-ki (right fielder), Park Hae-min (center fielder), Austin Dean (designated hitter), Moon Bo-kyung (third baseman), Song Chan-ui (left fielder), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Moon Jung-bin (first baseman), Park Dong-won (catcher), and Shin Min-jae (second baseman). The starting pitcher was Im Chan-gyu.

The two teams have been in contrasting moods recently. Third-place KT, riding a five-game winning streak, improved to 49 wins, 1 tie, and 35 losses, narrowing the gap with second-place LG (52 wins, 35 losses) to just 1.5 games.

However, the words of the five-game-winning skipper before the match came as a surprise. Lee Kang-cheol (60), KT's manager, said, "I was planning not to come to the stadium today... but since it has come to this, we have to do it," expressing some regret.

This is because three bullpen pitchers could not appear due to consecutive appearances. Manager Lee Kang-cheol announced that he would not use Sugimoto Kouki, Jeon Yong-ju, and Lee Sang-dong on this day. Sugimoto had thrown 25 pitches followed by 13 pitches, Jeon Yong-ju 14 pitches followed by 11 pitches, and Lee Sang-dong 9 pitches followed by 7 pitches, resulting in two consecutive appearances. Even for Lee Sang-dong, who had relatively fewer pitches, the manager shook his head.

The manager stated, "All three players will rest. (Lee) Sang-dong also looked tired after pitching. It is thanks that he pitched like that in two games."

As a result, the role of starting pitcher Sauer became even more important. Sauer has recorded 6 wins and 4 losses with an ERA of 4.39 over 16 games this season, logging 92⅓ innings and 66 strikeouts. Against LG, he had 1 win and 1 loss with an ERA of 4.67 in three appearances.

Moreover, KT signed a formal contract with replacement foreign pitcher Logan Allen on this day. With Caleb Boshill placed on waivers due to shoulder injury, the likelihood of Sauer remaining until the end of the season increased, further emphasizing his importance.

When reporters suggested that "Sauer needs to keep performing well," the manager replied, "That's exactly what I'm saying. I wish he could narrow the difference between strikes and balls a bit more."

Fortunately, closer Park Young-hyun did not appear in KT's 6-1 victory the previous day, making it possible for him to pitch today. The manager said, "Actually, even if we were told there would be 100% rain today, I was planning to use (Park) Young-hyun yesterday. If we had done that, we would have been in big trouble," sighing with relief.

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*This content was translated by AI.