Following the undefeated winning percentage leader, the left-handed pitcher ranked second in most wins in the KBO League could not smile either.
KT Wiz starter Wes Benjamin started as a starter in the second game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO postseason playoff against NC Dinos held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 31st.
Benjamin recorded 15 wins, 6 losses, and an ERA of 3.54 in 29 games this season. Benjamin, who took a hiatus after complaining of fatigue after the game against KIA on the 22nd of last month, felt pain in his left arm after throwing only 20 balls in the game against Samsung on the 6th and was forced to withdraw early. The season ended just like that.
In the first game the previous day, William Cuevas left a disappointing mark by allowing 7 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits, 2 walks, and 2 walks in 3 innings. Benjamin's good pitching was essential to achieve a tie of 1 win and 1 loss.
Before the game, KT coach Lee Kang-cheol also said, “Benjamin’s condition is not bad. It was okay during the Cheongbaekjeon as well. He will throw his ball if it doesn't hurt. Benjamin must block well. He said, “If we don’t break down in the beginning and the batting lineup develops quickly, we can bring victory,” adding, “We have to trust Benjamin.” Two bullpen days in a row makes no sense. You have to trust Benjamin. “I hope we can give up as few runs as possible and have long innings.”
The team got off to a good start in the first inning by grounding out leadoff hitter Son Ah-seop to second base. However, after getting a heavy hit from Park Min-woo, he threw a 137 km cutter to Park Geon-woo, which led to an out-of-park two-run home run that went over the left field fence, allowing a run from the first inning. Afterwards, both Jason Martin and Kwon Hee-dong were hit with fly balls.
The second episode was clean. Seo Ho-cheol was struck out on a looking strike, Oh Young-soo hit a grounder to second base, and Kim Hyeong-jun hit a fly ball to right field after an eight-pitch game. It seemed like he had found his senses.
In the third inning, he gave up a triple to right-center field to leadoff hitter Kim Joo-won. Afterwards, Benjamin connected Son Ah-seop, who was showing off his batting skills in the postseason, with a ground ball to first base. However, Park Byung-ho did not handle this properly, and Kim Joo-won, who was on third base, came home, and Son Ah-seop also reached first base due to an error. Afterwards, Benjamin hit Min-woo Park with a fly ball to left field, but was hit by Park Geon-woo and faced a crisis with runners on first and second base with one out. KT pitching coach Tae-han Kim visited the mound and talked to Benjamin to give him strength. Afterwards, Martin was treated with a fly ball to second base and Kwon Hee-dong was treated with a ground ball to shortstop, avoiding additional runs.
The 4th inning was a three-way inning. Seo Ho-cheol struck out on three pitches, Oh Young-soo hit a ground ball to second base, and Kim Hyeong-jun hit a ground ball to shortstop. In the 5th inning, Kim Joo-won's hard hit hit Benjamin's left leg, but Benjamin dealt with Kim Joo-won with his own hand. Although he was worried about his condition, Benjamin paid no heed and continued pitching. Son Ah-seop was hit with a ground ball to shortstop, and Hwang Jae-gyun's catching error occurred during Park Min-woo's at-bat, but Park Geon-woo was treated as a fly ball to center field.
That's it for Benjamin. In the top of the 6th inning, down 0-3, KT dropped Benjamin and brought up Dong-Hyun Son. On this day, Benjamin did his part by allowing 4 hits (1 home run), 2 strikeouts, and 3 runs in 5 innings.
not bad. He did his part. The two-run home run outside the park in the first inning and first baseman Park Byeong-ho's error in the third inning were somewhat disappointing.