13 batters perfect to 3 consecutive hits and 2 runs… ‘Autumn Zero Man’ Shin Min-hyuk can’t hold onto a 2-0 lead
NC Dinos’ Cinderella of this year’s postseason, Shin Min-hyuk, failed to protect a lead in Game 5,
Shin Min-hyuk started Game 5 of the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ postseason playoffs against KT Wiz at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, South Korea, and left the mound after giving up two runs on three hits with one walk and one strikeout in 4 1/3 innings.
Shin Min-hyuk took the mound with his team’s fate on the line in a winner-take-all game. Min-hyuk Shin has been NC’s ace in the postseason this year. 20-win ace Eric Peddy has been shut down for the postseason except for Game 1 due to fatigue.
However, Shin Min-hyuk was the ace who filled Peddie’s shoes. He pitched 5⅔ innings of four-hit, one-walk, three-strikeout ball in the semifinals against the SSG Landers, where he could have been under pressure, and then bounced back with 6⅓ innings of one-hit, one-walk, two-strikeout ball in the playoffs against KT. In the postseason, 온라인카지노 he pitched 12 scoreless innings in two games.
Although the series was tied at 2-2, the momentum and flow had shifted to the opponents, as they had taken a two-game lead and lost two games. It was on Shin’s shoulders that NC’s fall baseball journey would continue. He took the mound after four days of rest.
He continued to pitch well
In the first inning, he got Kim Sang-soo to fly out to center and Hwang Jae-gyun to fly out to right. Alford then flied out to right field to end the inning with a triple play.
In the second inning, he faced Park Byung-ho with a full nine-pitch count. But he threw a fastball and got a swinging strikeout. He then got Jang Sung-woo to fly out to right field and Moon Sang-chul to ground out to second base to end the inning.
In the top of the third inning, the Tigers took the lead on a sacrifice fly by Seo Ho-cheol, who capitalized on two errors to load the bases. In the bottom of the inning, Shin Min-hyuk remained steadfast and got Oh Yoon-seok to ground out to third, Cho Jae-dae to fly out to right, and Cho Seok-ho to ground out to second. A triple play for the third straight inning.
In the fourth inning, Shin Min-hyuk retired both Kim Sang-soo and Hwang Jae-gyun on fly balls to center field, and Alford’s line drive was snagged by Seo Ho-cheol at third base with a diving catch, extending his streak to four consecutive innings.
In the top of the fifth,
Son made it 2-0 with an RBI single. Leadoff hitter Park Byung-ho followed with a fly ball to center field. However, a batter later, Jang Sung-woo drew a full count and hit a double to right field. His 13-batter hitting streak came to an end and he was hit by his first pitch. He then gave up a single to Moon Sang-cheol to put runners on first and third with no outs. He was then replaced by Kim Min-hyuk, who hit a two-run double to center field. It tied the game at 2-2. After giving up his first run of the postseason, Shin Min-hyuk had to leave the game. Kim Young-gyu was the second pitcher to take the mound.
After facing the first batter and a full count, Young-gyu struck out swinging to load the bases with two outs, and Cho Sung-ho struck out swinging again to end the inning.
The game was tied at 2-2 heading into the top of the sixth inning.
