Although they did not use expressions such as ‘all-out war’ or ‘all in’, they have a strong will to advance to the top 5. kt coach Lee Kang-cheol hinted at the possibility of adjusting the starting rotation to increase as many wins as possible in the remaining 7 games in the first half.
Recently, kt rotated the starting rotation in the order of Wes Benjamin, William Cuevas, Eom Sang-baek, Bae Jae-seong, and Ko Young-pyo. There was some adjustment as the match against Hanwha in Daejeon on June 29 and LG match in Jamsil on June 4 were canceled due to rain. Still, the basic framework of putting Cuevas behind Benjamin remains the same. The part that director Lee Kang-cheol is struggling with is Ko Young-pyo’s rest day.메이저놀이터
Koh Young-pyo is scheduled to pitch against the KIA on the 8th. It is not yet known when the next appearance will be. Director Lee Kang-cheol said, “Ko Young-pyo is going to the KIA game on the 8th, but I’m worried about sending him out once more in the first half.” It is a plan with a 4-day break in mind. Instead, he set a policy to give Ko Yeong-pyo a rest of at least 10 days if he let go before KIA on the 8th and before Kiwoom on the 13th, the final match of the first half.
Cuevas finishes the first half with a mound against Kiwoom on the 12th following LG on the 6th. And he is scheduled to play his first game of the second half on the 21st. Director Lee Kang-cheol said, “If possible, I want to start the second half with Cuevas. It’s Daegu. There’s also something about feeling the emotions during the tiebreaker.”
KT starts the second half with an away game against Samsung in Daegu. Daegu is a meaningful place for Cuevas. On October 31, 2021, in the tiebreaker held at Samsung Lions Park, he pitched 7 scoreless innings and helped the team win 1-0. kt was able to win the Korean Series by grabbing this game and securing first place in the regular season.
From the remainder of the first half to the first series of the second half, coach Lee Kang-chul is looking forward to gaining as many multipliers as possible before and after the All-Star break to gain even a slight advantage in the ranking fight. He said with a big smile, “I look at the leaderboard every day, but I don’t do calculations.”
kt is on a four-game winning streak with an 8-4 victory over LG in Jamsil on the 5th. Since June, the record has been 18 wins and 8 losses, with a win rate of 0.693, which is higher than league leader LG (16 wins, 1 draw, 11 losses, 0.593). The seat is 7th, but the top ranks are in sight. It is only 2.0 games away from Doosan in 3rd place, and it is looking at the right to advance to the postseason at once with the strength of the starting team. I am hoping to get stronger momentum with the rotation adjustment.