Wiz outfielder hopes to build on 9th-inning slam after KBO postseason loss

Bae Jung-dae of the KT Wiz hits a grand slam against the NC Dinos during Game 1 of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 30. Yonhap

Coming as it did with his team down by eight runs in the bottom ninth of a Korean baseball postseason game, a grand slam by KT Wiz outfielder Bae Jung-dae on Monday night may appear meaningless at first glance.

But Bae is trying to take whatever positives he can find, after the Wiz fell to the NC Dinos 9-5 in Game 1 of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason.

Speaking to Yonhap News Agency before Game 2 on Tuesday at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, south of Seoul, Bae said he and his teammates will try to build on their desperate ninth-inning rally.

"We still have a lot of baseball left to play," Bae said of the best-of-five series. "We have to put last night's loss behind us. We feel good about putting a few runs on the board late last night, and if we can pick things up from there, I think we should have some good results coming our way."

Bae Jung-dae of the KT Wiz rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam against the NC Dinos during Game 1 of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 30. Yonhap

In his previous at-bat in the bottom seventh, Bae bounced into an inning-ending double play after the Wiz had put two runners on with nobody out. The Dinos were up 8-1 at the time, and they tacked on a run in the top ninth.

But the Wiz refused to go down without a fight. They loaded the bases with two outs, forcing the Dinos to summon their closer Lee Yong-chan to clean up the mess.

Bae jumped on a first-pitch fastball and deposited it into the left-field seats. Bae's celebration was admittedly muted, and the Dinos locked down the win only a few minutes later.

The Wiz were playing in their first game since ending their regular season on Oct. 10, seven days before other teams finished their schedule. The Wiz are no strangers to a long layoff prior to the postseason — they had almost two weeks off before playing the Korean Series in 2021 — and Bae said he didn't feel particularly rusty.

Bae Jung-dae of the KT Wiz is greeted by teammates in the dugout after hitting a grand slam against the NC Dinos during Game 1 of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 30. Yonhap

"I think NC guys just swung the bat better than we did," Bae observed. "I think they played better defense, too."

The Wiz, on the other hand, committed two errors, with third baseman Hwang Jae-gyun dropping a routine pop fly and pitcher William Cuevas making an errant throw to second base after fielding a bunt attempt. The Wiz had the fewest errors in the regular season with 99 in 144 games.

The Dinos had the most errors with 130 but they've been playing strong defense so far this postseason.

Bae himself had a deep flyball by Kwon Hui-dong go off his glove near the warning track in center field. Kwon was credited with a triple, though Bae, usually a sure-handed fielder, feels he should have caught the ball.

"I got a good jump on it and I tracked the flight of the ball pretty well," Bae said. "I just couldn't make the catch at the end. It wasn't an error on the scoreboard, but a play like that can shift the momentum. We have to be tighter on defense." (Yonhap)