Landers starter Kim Keon-woo sets KBO postseason strikeout record

SSG Landers starter Kim Keon-woo pitches against the Samsung Lions during Game 2 of the first-round series of the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, Saturday. Yonhap

SSG Landers starting pitcher Kim Keon-woo set a South Korean baseball postseason record by striking out the first six batters he faced Saturday.

Kim, a 23-year-old left-hander in his first Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason game, struck out the side in both the first and second innings against the Samsung Lions in Game 2 of their first-round series at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, about 30 kilometers west of Seoul.

Kim got Lee Jae-hyeon to whiff on a fastball for the first strikeout and then got Kim Seong-yoon looking at a 0-2 fastball for his second K. Koo Ja-wook then whiffed on a 3-2 fastball to end a six-pitch at-bat.

Kim then struck out Lewin Diaz looking at a fastball. Kim Young-woong swung and missed on a 1-2 slider, and Kim Keon-woo set the record by getting Kim Hun-gon to fan on a 0-2 changeup in the dirt.

The previous record had been five straight batters sat down by Keyvius Sampson of the Hanwha Eagles against the Nexen Heroes on Oct. 20, 2018.

Kim recorded another strikeout in the third inning, in which the Landers took a 2-0 lead in the bottom half of that inning. He, however, didn't even factor into a decision after getting the hook with one out in the fourth inning.

He allowed a single and a double before Diaz touched him for a two-run single to tie the game at 2-2. Kim was removed for reliever Lee Ro-un, who escaped the inning without further damage.

Kim threw 49 pitches, 34 of them for strikes. He offered 26 four-seam fastballs, 12 sliders, seven changeups and four curveballs.

The Landers grabbed a 3-2 lead in the fifth before the Lions tied it up in the top of the ninth. Then Kim Seong-uk's solo home run in the bottom ninth secured a 4-3 win for the Landers, as they evened up the best-of-five series at 1-1.

Kim Keon-woo said afterward he'd only found out about his record after his outing ended, but it was the furthest thing from his mind.

"Now that the game is over, it's finally dawning on me now," Kim said.

He got the Game 2 nod ahead of ace Drew Anderson, who has been battling stomach flu all week. Anderson is scheduled to start Game 3 on Monday at the Lions' home in Daegu, some 235 km southeast of Seoul.

The Landers dropped the series opener 5-2 on Thursday, and Saturday's game was close to a must-win contest for them. But Kim said the magnitude of the situation did not intimidate him.

"It was a great opportunity for me, but I regarded myself just as the first pitcher of this game, not the starting pitcher," he said. "I thought about how we gave up the early momentum with a first-inning home run in Game 1. So I tried to stay locked in during the first inning, and it worked out really well."

He said it also helped pitching to catcher Cho Hyeong-woo, one of his closest friends on the team. Cho caught 52 2/3 out of 66 innings that Kim threw during the regular season.

"He did a great job calling the game," Kim said of his batterymate. "He told me that there's nothing really special about a postseason game, and that I should trust him and make my pitches, no matter who comes to the plate. He really put me at ease."

As for getting pulled before completing the fourth inning, Kim said: "I knew there were better pitchers waiting behind me, and it was important not to give up our lead. I felt like I had done my part."