“Will there be a better pitcher than Peddie?”

 The 2nd round of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Post Season Playoff (PO) between NC and KT was held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do on the 31st. These are the words left by KT coach Lee Kang-cheol before the game.

KT lost 5 to 9 to NC in the first game of PO the previous day (30th). The batting line was tightly tied by NC starter Eric Peddy's good pitching, and the mound was helpless, giving up 13 hits.

In particular, Peddie's performance stood out. Peddie pitched well in 6 innings, allowing 3 hits, 12 strikeouts, and 1 run, and struck out 12, breaking the record for the most strikeouts in a single PO game.

It was a skill that even his enemy, Coach Lee, had no choice but to acknowledge. Coach Lee said of Peddy ahead of Game 2, "The angle of his slider was at the edge of the strike zone, and his two-seam fastball was pushed in, making it difficult for batters to hit. He is a good pitcher. He was better than in the regular season, and I have to admit that." I stuck out my tongue.

As Peddie did not play in the second game, he became confident that he could win. Coach Lee said, “You can think of it as losing 0 to 1 to Peddy,” and added, “It would be convenient to think that there will be a better pitcher than Peddy today.”

NC’s starting pitcher that day was Shin Min-hyuk. Shin Min-hyuk showed a strong performance with 2 wins, 2 losses, and an average ERA of 3.70 in 5 confrontations with KT in this year's regular season. Coach Lee expressed his caution, saying, “(Shin Min-hyuk) showed a strong performance against us. He also has the ability to make decisions.

Shin Min-hyuk also showed off a good pitch in the first game of the semi-PO match against SSG on the 22nd, his first appearance in this post-season. He pitched 5⅔ innings, allowing 4 hits, 3 strikeouts, and no runs, leading the team to a 4-3 victory.Shin Min-hyuk continued his good performance in today’s game. He pitched 6⅓ innings, allowing 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, and no runs.

NC tookthe lead in the top of the first inning with Park Geon-woo's two-run home run. Shin Min-hyuk then took the mound in the bottom of the first inning and pitched a neat three-way inning with two fly balls and a ground ball.

Shin Min-hyuk recorded his first hit after hitting a double from Moon Sang-cheol with two outs and no runners in the bottom of the second inning. However, he continued his scoreless pitching by handling the follow-up Cho Yong-ho with a fly ball.

In the top of the third inning, Kim Joo-won hit a triple and took advantage of the opponent's defensive error to score, creating a three-point lead. Afterwards, Shin Min-hyuk blocked KT's batting line with three-way strikes in a row from the 3rd to the 6th inning.

A crisis came in the bottom of the 7th inning, when the team was pitching well. With one out and no runner on base, a walk was allowed to Alford, and a defensive error occurred when Byeong-ho Park's grounder forced the team to first and second base. Shin Min-hyuk, whose pitch count reached 81, was eventually replaced by Ryu Jin-wook and came off the mound.

Fortunately for NC, Ryu Jin-wook overcame the crisis and prevented the goal from being conceded. Ryu Jin-wook ended the inning by inducing Jang Seong-woo's double play with one out and runners on first and second base.

KT launched a counterattack late in the bottom of the 8th inning, allowing KT to concede 2 runs and trail by 1 point. When Oh Yoon-seok's fly ball hit with one out and runners on second and third base, third base runner Song Min-seop hit home and allowed Kim Sang-soo to hit a timely hit.

In the bottom of the 9th inning, closing pitcher Lee Yong-chan was in danger of reversing first and third base with no outs. However, he took a breather by striking out Moon Sang-cheol and Kim Jun-tae in the follow-up. Afterwards, Bae Jeong-dae, who had hit a grand slam the day before, came up to the plate, but after sending him to an automatic 4th pitch, Oh Yoon-seok was hit with a fly ball to preserve the victory.

Shin Min-hyuk did not perform as amazingly as Pedi. In the 7th inning, with a 3-0 lead, they were on the verge of giving up a run.

However, he contributed to the team's victory with pitching that was as stable as Peddie's. Thanks to Shin Min-hyuk's good pitching, NC is on the verge of advancing to the Korean Series.

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