KT hitter Sam Hilliard, who hit a grand slam against the SSG Landers on Sept. 22KT WIZ
The KT Wiz tightened their hold on the KBO's top spot Tuesday by breaking through against Pedro Avila, one of the league's most dominant pitchers.
KT extended its winning streak to three games with an 8-2 victory over SSG in Incheon on Tuesday. The Wiz remained three-and-a-half games ahead of the second-place Samsung Lions and improved to 8 wins, 7 losses and a tie against SSG this season. The seventh-place Landers saw their four-game winning streak come to an end.
SSG started Avila, who joined the club as a replacement player in mid-July and has been dominant ever since. The pitcher has maintained an ERA in the 1.00s.
SSG Landers pitcher Pedro Avila throws during a match against the Doosan Bears in Incheon on Sept. 4.YONHAP
In Tuesday’s game, KT also struggled to get to Avila early and trailed 2-1 through six innings.
However, the Wiz finally broke through in the top of the seventh. With runners at the corners and one out, Kwon Dong-jin delivered an RBI single to tie the game before Kim Min-hyuck followed with a go-ahead RBI single that knocked Avila out of the game.
KT hitter Sam Hilliard put the game away in the top of the ninth. With the Wiz leading 4-2, Hilliard launched a 130-meter (426-foot) grand slam to center field with two outs, stretching the lead to six runs.
It was Hilliard’s 38th home run of the season and the third grand slam of his career. The grand slam brought Hilliard within two home runs of league leader Kim Do-yeong of the Kia Tigers, who has 40, and one behind Austin Dean of the LG Twins, who has 39.
Avila took his second loss of the season despite a strong outing. He allowed three runs on six hits and struck out eight over 6 2/3 innings.
Elsewhere, the Samsung Lions beat the NC Dinos 8-5 at home in Daegu. The Lions scored five runs on three homers, a two-run shot by Kang Min-ho in the second inning, a solo homer by Koo Ja-wook in the third and a two-run blast by Lewin Diaz in the eighth.
Sixth-place NC lost its eighth straight game and fell six-and-a-half games behind the fifth-place Doosan Bears.
Lotte Giants players celebrate their win over the Samsung Lions in Daegu on Sept. 3.NEWS1
The Lotte Giants cruised to a 7-0 victory over the Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon for their fourth straight win. Five of Lotte’s seven runs came on home runs: a two-run shot by Na Seung-yeup and a solo homer by Han Dong-hui in the third inning, followed by a two-run homer from Son Seong-bin in the sixth.
Lotte starter Jeremy Beasley struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings to earn his 10th win of the season against seven losses. Hanwha dropped its eighth straight game.
The Doosan Bears beat the last-place Kiwoom Heroes 5-3 on the road at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul. Starter Wesley Benjamin of the Bears struck out 10 and allowed one run over six innings to improve to 7 wins and 7 losses. Kiwoom lost its sixth straight game.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
