The bullpen was the first to go to work. With two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, NC removed starter Shin Min-hyuk from the mound and brought in left-hander Kim Young-kyu.
After getting the first batter, Han Yoo-seom, to fly out to center field to end the inning, Kim defended well in the bottom of the seventh, getting Ha Jae-hoon and Choi Ji-hoon to fly out and Kim Sung-hyun to ground out to shortstop.
Meanwhile, Elias held the SSG mound alone, holding the NC bats to just two hits through the seventh inning.
However, a mercenary play by NC broke up a tight game and Elias’ streak.
In the top of the eighth inning, NC’s leadoff hitter Seo Ho-cheol hit an infield single that bounced off the shortstop’s glove. 온라인카지노
The next batter, Kim Hyung-jun, was thrown out trying to bunt and failed to advance the runner to first base, but NC tried to turn the tide by bringing in pinch-hitter Kim Sung-wook to bat for Oh Young-soo in the eighth.
And Kim lived up to the expectations of the bench. Kim took Elias’ first pitch, a wild changeup, and smashed it over the left-center field fence for a 120-meter home run.
Immediately realizing it was a home run, Kim threw his bat and raised his arms in celebration, and the third base bleachers erupted in a mint-colored wave of NC fans.
It was the first time in six years that Kim had hit a home run in the postseason since the second game of the 2017 playoffs against Doosan.
After taking the lead for the first time since the start of the game, NC tried to preserve the win by bringing in set-up man Ryu Jin-wook, who had 22 holds and a 2.15 ERA in the regular season this year, in the bottom of the eighth inning.
However, Ryu was hit by back-to-back singles by Choo Shin-soo and Choi Joo-hwan, and a sacrifice bunt by Park Sung-hwan put runners on first and second and third.
With center fielder Choi Jeong and Eredia waiting in the bullpen, it was a cliffhanger.
Ryu Jin-wook allowed Choi to hit a line drive to left field, but it went into the glove of left fielder Kwon Hee-dong, allowing only the third baseman to come home.
Heredia then struck out the side with a falling cutter after a five-pitch battle to end the inning with one run.
NC capitalized on the baseball adage of “crisis followed by opportunity.
In the top of the ninth inning, NC led off with a walk and a sacrifice bunt to put runners on second and third with Martin at the plate.
Martin then singled to right field to bring in Park, giving NC back the one run it had lost in the bottom of the eighth.
Martin then stole second base and came home on Seo Ho-cheol’s RBI single to right field, giving NC a three-run lead.
NC brought in closer Lee Yong-chan in the bottom of the ninth inning.
After giving up three runs in the ninth inning in the first game of the wild-card decider, Lee quickly found himself down by one run after giving up a leadoff single to Han Yoo-seom and a two-run homer to Ha Jae-hoon in left field.
With the game potentially out of hand, Lee struck out Choi Ji-hoon and Kim Sung-hyun on consecutive infield singles before striking out pinch-hitter Kim Kang-min to end the game.