The LG Twins won the Korean Series for the first time in 21 years. LG beat KT Wiz 5-4 in Game 2 of the "2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Postseason" Korean Series at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 8th and succeeded in balancing the series with one win and one loss.

LG, which entered the Korean Series for the first time since 2002, when the Korea-Japan World Cup was held, had an emotional moment to win the Korean Series in 7671 days. Before the game, LG's last Korean Series victory was 8-7 in Game 5 of the Korean Series against the Samsung Lions in 2002. At that time, the winning pitcher was right-hander Lee Dong-hyun in his second year, and the save pitcher was Jang Moon-seok, so you can guess the weight of time.

In fact, LG was full of anxiety that it might lose two consecutive games from the start of the game. This is because starting pitcher Choi Won-tae was shaken from the first inning and was knocked out after ⅓ innings, and LG started with a difficult start, allowing as many as four runs in the first inning alone.

But LG was not frustrated. In the bottom of the third inning, Shin Min-jae seemed to be out of energy when he was out while trying to steal second base, but LG recovered one point with Austin Dean's timely hit to the left in a two-out, first and third base chance that Hong Chang-ki's walk and Park Hae-min's infield hit to the pitcher, adding one more run with Oh Ji-hwan's superior solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, and Kim Hyun-soo's timely double to the right in the bottom of the seventh inning exploded with two outs and one base, making it 3-4 one-run approach.

The highlight was the eighth episode. When Oh Ji-hwan got on base with a walk in the bottom of the 8th inning, Moon Bo-kyung succeeded in a pitcher sacrifice bunt and took a chance with 1 out and 2nd base, and LG was able to come from behind 5-4 by hitting a two-run homer over the left-center wall while Park Dong-won did not hesitate to swing full.

In fact, pitchers' good pitching is the key to LG's 5-4 reversal. In fact, LG, which had no choice but to operate as a "Bullpen Day," created the basis of the reversal as Lee Jung-yong allowed three hits in one ⅔, Jung Woo-young allowed two hits in one ⅓, Kim Jin-sung allowed no hits in two ⅔, Baek Seung-hyun allowed one hit in two innings, Yoo Young-chan allowed no hits in two ⅓ innings, and Ham Deok-joo allowed no hits in one inning.

There is only one left. It was to prevent KT's pursuit in the top of the ninth inning. LG put closer Ko Woo-suk on the mound.

Ko Woo-suk also took the mound in Game 1 of the Korean Series the previous day (7th), but he had a pain of bowing his head after being hit by a big final double by Moon Sang-chul in the top of the ninth inning. LG lost 2-3 as Ko Woo-suk faced a decisive shot and failed to take the lead in the series.

Nevertheless, LG believed in Ko Woo-suk once again. And Ko Woo-suk responded to the belief with a fastball of up to 154 kilometers.

KT put Kim Min-hyuk, the best pinch-hitter card that can be put on the bench from the beginning of the ninth inning, but Ko Woo-suk did not care about this and threw a 130km curve, leading to a swing and strikeout. The same goes for Cho Yong-ho, who also appeared. Ko Woo-suk, who successively threw 150 kilometers of fastball, struck out with a head-to-head match with a fastball. Ko's last out-count sacrifice was Kim Sang-soo. Two 154km fastballs were enough to catch Kim Sang-soo with a groundout to the second baseman.

In the end, as Ko Woo-suk defended a close lead by one point, LG was able to win 5-4, and he was able to take a breather by finishing the first and second games in Jamsil with one win and one loss. It wasn't just one win.

After the game, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop also expressed satisfaction. Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop said of Ko Woo-suk, "Ko Woo-suk's ball power in the first round was not bad. The opponent hit a good pitch. The results were not good, but Ko Woo-suk returned to his original form. The player, I, and the coaching staff all said a lot of things that instilled confidence in (the late) Woo-suk. We can achieve our goal only if we keep it as our closer. He talked about the bad parts and the fact that he used breaking balls as his fastball flew. When I got the fastball right, I was able to control it. I look forward to it in the future," he said.

Ko Woo-suk has been named as one of the key players of this Korean series. Last year alone, Ko Woo-suk, who pitched 60 ⅔ innings in 61 games, showed off his prowess as a special closer with 4 wins, 2 losses, 42 saves, and a 1.48 ERA, played 44 innings in 44 games in this year's regular season, leaving him with 3 wins, 8 losses, 15 saves and a 3.68 ERA.

There was an effect of my physical condition. Ko Woo-suk had a busy schedule while visiting the World Baseball Classic (WBC) and the Hangzhou Asian Games national team this year, and his shoulder and back conditions were not intact.

He almost failed to play in the Korean Series. Ko Woo-suk took the mound in the ninth inning in a practice game with Sangmu at Jamsil Stadium on the 1st, but he felt something wrong during the pitch and sent a replacement signal to the bench. He developed muscle pain in his back. Ko went straight to the hospital for a checkup. Fortunately, he was found to be a simple muscle pain and had enough time to recover before the opening of the Korean Series.

No matter how much Ko Woo-suk did not show as much "untouchable" as he did last year, there seems to be no replacement for Ko Woo-suk in LG now. He is simply an "irreplaceable" player.

Even when LG won the Korean Series in the past, there was a "special finish." In 1990, the first year of its foundation, LG won four consecutive Korean Series titles against Samsung and won its long-awaited first championship. In Game 4 of the Korean Series at Daegu Stadium, it was Jung Sam-heum who grabbed the last out count and raised his right arm. Jung Sam-heum, who was famous as a master of "brain pitching," defended LG's back door with 8 wins, 9 losses, 23 saves and an ERA of 2.78 in the 1990 season. Jung has made 47 saves in total, nearly half of which he made 23 saves in the 1990 season.

Even in 1994, when LG still remained the last Korean Series title, there was a strong closer named "Nosong" Kim Yong-soo. Kim Yong-soo achieved his first 30 saves in his career in 1994 with five wins, five losses, 30 saves and a 2.56 ERA, showing off his prowess as a special closer. At that time, Jung Myung-won of the Pacific Dolphins did not become the relief king as he opened the first 40-save era, but the back door protected by Kim Yong-soo was the main driver of LG's victory in both the regular season and the Korean Series.

In Game 4 of the Korean Series against the Pacific, Kim Yong-soo grabbed Kim Sung-gap's ground ball, raised his arms, and calmly threw to first base to confirm the moment when the championship was confirmed. Kim Yong-soo, who played with one win and two saves during the series, was thrilled to be named the MVP of the Korean Series once again following 1990. Kim Yong-soo is the only Korean Series MVP winner in LG's history.

Will Ko Woo-suk be able to keep LG's back door strong and hold the honor of a "hengga-rae pitcher" as Jung Sam-heum and Kim Yong-soo did. Ko Woo-suk, who made a splendid comeback in the second game of the Korean Series, has already established the foothold.

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