The LG Twins have lost their mojo. Can “LG Killer” Wes Benjamin (KT Wiz) bring it back?
Benjamin will start Game 3 of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League Korean Series against LG at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Tuesday.
The two teams are evenly matched with a 1-1 series record. KT was the first team to smile. Moon Sang-chul’s RBI double with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning in a 2-2 tie in Game 1 at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on April 7 won the game for KT.굿모닝토토 도메인
In the second game, however, LG fought back. In the top of the first inning, KT was able to break down LG starter Choi Won-tae. They scored four runs against Choi and seemed to take control of the game. Won-tae Choi was pulled early after just ⅓ of an inning. However, they struggled to capitalize on the bullpen that came up after him. They were unable to add any more runs.
Meanwhile, LG began to pull away. Austin Dean’s RBI single in the third inning, followed by Oh Ji-hwan’s RBI single in the sixth and Kim Hyun-soo’s RBI double in the seventh narrowed the gap to one run. In the bottom of the eighth, with runners on first and second, Park Dong-won hit a two-run home run.
Benjamin has been strong against LG this season. In five appearances, he has a 4-0 record with nine runs (three earned) in 32 1/3 innings for a 0.84 ERA. In the opener against LG, he pitched six innings of one run (unearned), two hits, and four strikeouts. On May 16 at Jamsil LG gave up five runs in six innings, but only one earned. In July, he made two appearances. On May 5, he allowed two runs (one earned) in 5⅓ innings against Jamsil, and on May 25, he pitched eight scoreless innings against the Suwon LG Electronics, giving up three hits, walking one and striking out nine. In his last appearance for the LG Electronics on September 6, he didn’t get the win, but he was just as good, allowing one run (one earned) in seven innings.
LG’s starting pitcher is Im Chan-kyu. Im Chan-kyu is a former ‘Elin’ player who will be playing in the Korean Series for the first time in an LG uniform. The right-hander, who opted for free agency before the season, had a career-high season with a 14-3 record in 30 games (26 starts), one shutout, 144⅔ innings pitched, 103 strikeouts, and a 3.42 ERA. Lim has appeared in four games (three starts) against KT this season, posting a 1-1 record with one save, 16⅓ innings pitched, 14 runs (12 earned), 10 strikeouts, and a 6.61 ERA.