(2nd LD) Wiz defeat Landers to grab last KBO postseason ticket

Slugger Mel Rojas Jr. smacked a go-ahead three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning for his two-homer day, as the KT Wiz rallied past the SSG Landers 4-3 on Tuesday to secure the final Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason ticket. With the Wiz down 3-1, Rojas stepped in with runners at the corners against Kim Kwang-hyun, a veteran Landers starter making his first relief appearance in two years. At 2-0 count, Rojas jumped on a changeup and drove it deep into the left-field seats to put the Wiz up for good. It was Rojas who had put the Wiz on the board with a first-inning solo home run against starter Roenis Elias. For the Landers, Choi Jeong had broken a 1-1 tie with a single in the fifth and then given his team some breathing room with a solo shot in the top eighth. But Kim couldn't let the lead stand. He came on with a runner on and then allowed a pinch-hit single to Oh Jae-il, before Rojas turned the game upside down with his homer. The Landers had a tying run at third base with two o uts in the top ninth, but Choi Ji-hoon struck out swinging against closer Park Yeong-hyun. Earlier in the ninth, retiring Landers star Choo Shin-soo struck out as a pinch hitter in his final professional game. He had made his final regular-season appearance Monday night. After winning the first fifth-place tiebreaker game in league history, the Wiz will go on to face the fourth-seed Doosan Bears in the wild card game at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. As the higher seed, the Bears only need a tie in two tries to reach the next phase. The Wiz, as the lower seed, must win two consecutive games, both on the road, to advance. The higher-seeded team has won every year since the inception of the wild card system in 2015. After Rojas homered off starter Roenis Elias in the bottom of the first, the Landers drew even in the top third thanks to Jeong Jun-jae's RBI single off starter Um Sang-back. The Landers broke the deadlock in the top fifth thanks to three straight two-out hits, the la st one an RBI knock by Choi Jeong against new pitcher So Hyeong-jun. So was summoned from the bullpen after Um gave up a single to Choi Ji-hoon, but So ended up allowing the go-ahead run. For the Landers, Elias settled down after serving up the homer to Rojas, holding the Wiz to just one more hit over the next four frames. Choi Jeong then put the Landers up by two with a solo home run off reliever Ko Young-pyo in the top eighth. The Landers' second pitcher of the game, Noh Kyung-eun, worked a scoreless seventh inning, but after a leadoff single by Sim Woo-jun in the ninth, Landers manager Lee Sung-yong was quick to pull the trigger and brought in the left-hander Kim Kwang-hyun, whose previous relief outing had come during the 2022 Korean Series. Wiz manager Lee Kang-chul also made a daring move, lifting Kim Min-hyuck, who led the team with a .353 batting average during the regular season, for left-handed pinch hitter Oh Jae-il. The gamble paid off for the Wiz as Oh lined a single to right field, setting the stage for Rojas' heroics. As soon as he made contact for the no-doubter of a home run, Rojas dropped his bat and pounded his chest, as the rest of the Wiz in the first base dugout went wild. Park Yeong-hyun was credited with the win after working the final 1 1/3 innings and recording three strikeouts. For the first wild card game, the Bears will start right-hander Gwak Been, who tied for the KBO lead with 15 wins this year. This will be Gwak's third-career wild card start. Gwak is 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA in five career postseason games. But he was excellent against the Wiz this year, with a 5-0 record and a 1.51 ERA in six starts. The Wiz will counter with William Cuevas, who went 7-12 with a 4.10 ERA this year. He also struggled against the Bears, posting a 1-2 record and a 5.79 ERA. However, he has been excellent in his postseason career, with a 3-1 record and a 2.87 ERA in six appearances. He was an integral part of the Wiz's run to the 2021 Korean Series title. Source: Yonhap News Agency