KT WIZ foreign pitcher William Cuevas pitched a seven-inning no-hitter to earn his sixth win of the season and extend his personal undefeated streak. The KT tiebreaker hero is looking to roar from the top again.
On Aug. 15 against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil, Cuevas pitched seven innings of two-hit ball, striking out seven and walking two in a 1-0 victory 먹튀검증.
On that day, Cuevas got off to a clean start, throwing perfect innings from the first through the third. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Cuevas gave up his first hit of the day on a bunt single to leadoff hitter Jung Soo-bin. After a throwing error put runners on first and third, Cuevas induced a grounder to Rojas at first base to throw out the runner at home to end the threat.
KT pitcher Cuevas makes a funny face as he meets with reporters after his seven-inning no-hitter against Doosan in Jamsil on Aug. 15. Photo (Jamsil) = Kim Geun-han Reporter
After getting through the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings without any major threats, Cuevas took the mound in the seventh. In the bottom of the seventh, Cuevas gave up back-to-back singles to Kim Jae-hwan and Kim In-tae, putting runners on second and third. However, Cuevas struck out pinch-hitter Kang Seung-ho on three pitches to complete the quality start.
On the day, Cuevas threw a total of 100 pitches, with 70 for strikes. His fastball, which topped out at 144 km/h (37), was mixed with a slider (27), curve (20), and changeup (12) to dominate the Doosan lineup.
The KT bats, which were held scoreless by Alcantara until the seventh inning, were also energized by Cuevas’ performance. In the top of the eighth inning, KT created a scoring opportunity against reliever Park Chi-guk, as Bae Jae-dae singled to right and advanced to second on a throwing error by the right fielder. Kim Min-hyuk followed with an RBI single to left-center field to dramatically increase the Cuevas’ lead.
KT immediately utilized its closer pairing of Park Young-hyun in the bottom of the eighth and Kim Jae-yoon in the bottom of the ninth to seal the game with a one-run victory.
After the game, KT manager Lee Kang-cheol said, “Cuevas really pitched his best game. He gave us a chance to win the game. The next two pitchers, Park Young-hyun and Kim Jae-yoon, also did a good job. Congratulations to Kim Jae-yoon on his fourth consecutive 20-save season. In the batting order, Bae Jae-dae gave us valuable runs, and Kim Min-hyuk’s decisive hit helped us win the game. Thank you to the fans who supported us until the end.”
KT pitcher Cuevas pitched a seven-inning no-hitter to earn his sixth win of the season. Photo by Kim Young-koo
Cuevas met with the media after the win and said, “I always try to enjoy the game when I’m on the mound. It was fun today because I was starting against a good friend (Alcantara). I texted him after the game to say good job and that he pitched great. It’s an honor to win against a great pitcher. Another 1-0 win reminded me of the tiebreaker game two years ago, so it was even more fun,” he smiled.
Cuevas, who has been pitching better and better since returning to the KBO, is confident that he can do even better in the rest of the season.
“When I was in the minor leagues with the LA Dodgers, they recommended a lower body movement that required less effort. As a result, I was able to throw better pitches with less effort. This summer has been the hottest in my five seasons in Korea. It reminds me of summer when I’m in Florida, and I’ve always been better in the second half than the first, so I’m looking forward to continuing to pitch well the rest of the season.”
Cuevas envisions the team advancing to the Korean Series, just as he did two years ago when he was the tiebreaker hero.
“When I came back to Korea, the team was down to eighth place, and I always told my teammates not to worry about it. I believed that we were a team that could move up naturally if we focused on playing every day for a week. We’re already up to third place. I’m still throwing the ball, always dreaming of the Korean Series,” he said encouragingly.