(LEAD) Following dominant regular season, Wiz go out with whimper in Korean Series

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By Yoo Jee-ho

DAEGU, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- After running away with the regular-season crown, the KT Wiz went out with a whimper in the Korean Series on Sunday, falling to the Samsung Lions 12-1 in the deciding Game 5.

The Wiz won the series opener at home in Suwon, just south of Seoul, by 8-7 last Tuesday but then dropped the next game the very next day 3-2 in 12 innings.

The Wiz proceeded to lose three more games in a row, all at the Lions' home, Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu. In those three losses in Daegu, the Wiz managed just seven runs.

The Wiz grabbed the top seed for the postseason by going 90-49-5 (wins-losses-ties) in the regular season, finishing eight games ahead of the Lions to earn a bye to the Korean Series. The Wiz were the first team to win at least 90 games since 2018 but failed to translate that success into championship glory. They also ended the season on a 10-game winning streak.

The Wiz led the regular season with a .286 batting average, 825 runs scored and 1,441 hits, but that level of production was nowhere to be found during their five-game loss in the Korean Series. They hit just .207 as a team.

On the pitching side, the Wiz posted the second-lowest ERA in the regular season at 4.14 and allowed the fewest walks with 451.

Their pitchers in the Korean Series posted a 6.00 ERA and issued 24 walks in just 45 innings, including nine in a 10-5 loss in Game 4 on Saturday.

Their first two starters, Davis Daniel and Ko Young-pyo, did their part early in the series. Daniel held the Lions to three runs in six innings for the win, while Ko limited the opponents to a run in seven innings in the second game.

So Hyeong-jun, though, had a disappointing outing in Game 3, when he issued his season-high five walks, including three in the second inning alone. He had never walked more than two batters in any regular-season game.

The Wiz's Game 4 starter, Logan Allen, was even worse. The left-hander was roughed up for six runs on five hits, three walks and one hit-by-pitch in only one inning of work. The Wiz scored one run in the top of the first but then the Lions got those half-dozen runs off Allen, who retired only three of the 12 batters he faced.

Daniel was back on the hill for Game 5, trying to keep the Wiz alive in the series, but he was charged with three earned runs on five hits in three innings.

Ko came on in his relief but he gave up eight runs -- six unearned -- in 1 1/3 innings. Ko received little help from his infield, which committed two errors, but also didn't help himself by surrendering five hits.

Wiz manager Lee Kang-chul looked overwhelmed at times during the series, with many of his bullpen decisions backfiring in crucial innings.

Other than the All-Star closer Park Yeong-hyun, relievers looked unplayable for long stretches. With the Wiz trailing for most of the late games, Park didn't even pitch in the final three games.

Lee admitted he was too passive at times in making in-game calls.

"Sometimes, you can't do anything with pitching decisions, but I was a little too late with pinch-hitting decisions," Lee said.

Lee recalled that the pendulum swung the other way when the Wiz nearly blew an 8-0 lead in Game 1 and hung on to win by 8-7. Then in the next game, the Wiz had several chances to take the lead and even walk off the Lions in extra innings before losing by one.

"We had our opportunities to finish off that game but couldn't get it done," Lee said. "That loss affected us the rest of the series."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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