How Anthony Alford’s batting hasn’t returned to the field.
KT Wiz, coached by Lee Kang-cheol, will take on the LG Twins in Game 3 of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Korean Series at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Tuesday. After winning Game 1 3-2 and losing Game 2 4-5, KT returned to Suwon with a 1-1 record.
The starting lineup and bullpen are doing their jobs, but the absence of center fielders Park Byung-ho and Alford has been painful for KT. They are the only two players in the starting lineup who have not gotten a hit in the last two games.
Park Byung-ho is one, but Alford’s bat has gone cold. Two hits in 20 at-bats this postseason. He’s batting just one percent.
He went 0-for-4 in Game 1 of the playoffs against the NC Dinos, 0-for-3 in Game 2, and 0-for-1 in Game 3.
He then seemed to come alive in Game 4, going 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, a home run, an RBI, and two runs scored, but he went 2-for-5 in Game 5 and hasn’t had much luck in the Korean Series, going 0-for-3 in Game 1 and 1-for-3 in Game 2. He was even thrown out at home in Game 1. Like the approaching winter weather, Alford’s bat is freezing.
It’s a shame because Alford was a force to be reckoned with in fall baseball last year. He went 3-for-2 in Game 1 of the wild-card deciding series against the KIA Tigers last year, and went 8-for-20 with a home run and four RBIs in the semifinal series against the Kiwoom Heroes. Although the team didn’t make the playoffs, Alford, who joined the team as an alternate outfielder, posted an impressive .434 batting average (10-for-23) in his first taste of fall baseball in Korea. 토토사이트
Alford, who received a passing grade as an alternate outfielder last season and has been with KT from the start this season, batted .289 with 142 hits, 15 home runs, 70 RBIs, and 83 runs scored in 133 regular-season games, but his lack of power at the most crucial stages of the season has broken the hearts of KT fans.
Manager Lee Kang-cheol said he would “consider” a possible batting order change. Alford played the most at-bats in the third spot in the regular season, followed by the fifth spot (49 at-bats) and the second spot (28 at-bats).
In contrast to Alford, LG’s foreign-born batsman Austin Dean has been on fire. He has been performing as expected in the No. 4 spot in the batting order. He went 1-for-4 with a home run and an RBI in game one and 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI in game two.
In Game 3 after a 1-1 start, the winning team has an 85% (17/20) chance of winning the series. Alford needs to bounce back.
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