LG on the verge of a championship and KT on the brink will face off again with aces.
LG’s Casey Kelly and KT’s Ko Young-pyo will start Game 5 of the Korean Series at Jamsil Stadium on Wednesday. It will be a rematch between the foreign and local aces who were responsible for Game 1.
In Game 1, Kelly gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits in 6.1 innings, and Ko Young-pyo gave up two runs (one earned) on seven hits in six innings. Neither of them got the win, but they pitched well, and KT took the win.
Back on the mound, Kelly was tasked with securing the win for LG. With a 3-1 series lead after winning Game 4 on Nov. 11, LG needs just one more win to clinch the Korean Series and the overall title for the first time in 29 years since 1994. It was up to Kelly, a foreign pitcher, to seal the deal.
LG had planned to use Kelly in Game 4 if they lost Game 3, but with the win, they decided to use him in Game 5 to try to win the final four games. This means that he is the only ace-level pitcher in the lineup that LG can rely on. If Kelly struggles and misses Game 5, LG could be in trouble again with the Game 6 starting spot open. Even with the current advantage, LG needs to close out Game 5 to be safe.
Game 5 could be the game that decides whether or not Kelly will be re-signed. Kelly, who joined LG in 2019 and made his KBO debut, is playing in the Korean Series for the first time in his fifth year. Kelly, who has been the epitome of a hard-working foreign player, has been up and down in the regular season this year and was on the verge of being replaced, but he has found his form again and is leading LG’s Korean Series charge. “The club’s opinion is important, but I want to re-sign (Kelly),” said LG manager Yoon Kyung-yeop, who announced Kelly as the starter for Game 5 on April 11.
KT, which has lost three games in a row after winning Game 1, will again turn to “savior” Ko Young-pyo. 보스토토
KT can turn the tide once they secure Game 5. They have a chance to win the starting battle again. After Ko, William Cuevas, who started Game 2, will be ready for Game 6. Cuevas, who has been pitching on only three or four days of rest during the postseason, will be fully recovered after five days off.
In the playoffs, KT dropped Games 1-2 to NC before taking Games 3-5 to advance to the Korean Series. The first step was Ko Young-pyo, who started Game 3 and shut down the NC bats, which were exploding here and there like a powder keg at the time, with six innings of three-hit ball. KT has been playing since the playoffs, and the pitching staff is exhausted. At a time when the starters need to hold on as long as possible, ‘Mr. QS’ Ko Young-pyo steps in. The task is to not give up an early run and stop LG’s momentum early.
LG has been hitting home runs in this Korean Series. Through four games, they’ve hit a total of eight home runs, with the only game they didn’t hit a home run in being Game 1. Young-pyo Ko leads the league in home runs