KT Wiz foreign hitter Anthony Alford (29) led the team and individual charge against the KIA Tigers, a team that has been particularly tough on him this season.
KT has been particularly weak against KIA this season. Before the doubleheader against KIA at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on April 4, KT was 4-9 against them. They have so many memories of losing to Kia that even if they played all the remaining games, they wouldn’t be able to tie the series. KT head coach Lee Kang-cheol has a list of nemeses he wants to get rid of this season.
There was one hitter who was uniquely powerless when faced with a KIA. Alford. Alford had struggled mightily against KIA, batting .171 (7-for-41) in 13 games before today’s doubleheader. It was his lowest average of the nine teams he had faced so far. Furthermore, KIA is the only team he hasn’t hit a home run against this season, after hitting one against eight teams. It was as if he couldn’t shake the memory of last year (7 games, 0.158, 0 home runs).
But this day was different. In the first game of the doubleheader, he had a multi-hit game (2-for-1, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 walk), even though his team lost 2-10. Alford carried that momentum into game two of the doubleheader, going 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, a walk, and an RBI in the team’s 3-2 win. With the score tied at 0-0 in the bottom of the first inning, she lined a single to left field with runners on first and second.
Alford was also the spark plug for KT’s center field lineup. In the bottom of the third inning, he singled up the middle to bring in Lee Ho-yeon, who had earlier scored on a wild pitch, and KT scored two more runs on consecutive singles by Park Byung-ho, Hwang Jae-gyun, and Jang Sung-woo. In the bottom of the eighth inning with a 3-2 lead, Alford tried to wake up the bats once again by leading off with a walk and then stealing second base.
Thanks to Alford, KT was able to further solidify its second place position. KT went 1-1 in the doubleheader, improving their record to 75-361. The loss in the 토토 first game of the doubleheader reduced the gap to two games with the third-place NC Dinos, but Alford led the way to extend it to three games.
Meanwhile, KIA’s Park Chan-ho, who was hit in the wrist by KT starter Lee Sun-woo’s ball in the top of the fifth inning, was diagnosed with a comminuted fracture of his left ulna after being examined at a nearby hospital. A KIA team official said, “We will conduct a double check tomorrow (May 5) in the morning.” “The exact diagnosis, including the rehabilitation period, will be confirmed after tomorrow’s checkup.”