William Cuevas (33-KT WIZ) is a “special pitcher” in the KBO postseason. After winning the franchise’s first combined title (regular season and Korean Series) in 2021 thanks to Cuevas, KT is looking to win the franchise’s second Korean Series title in 2023.Cuevas started Game 2 of the Korean Series (KS) against the LG Twins at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Aug. 8 and pitched six innings, allowing two runs on eight hits and two walks .It wasn’t his best outing, but Cuevas stepped up to the plate and minimized the damage .While Cuevas was on the mound, LG used six pitchers. Cuevas took the mound in the bottom of the seventh inning with a 4-2 lead. In the top of the inning, Cuevas gave up a single to Park Hae-min and a double to Austin Dean to put runners on first and third .However, he struck out Oh Ji-hwan on a 148-kilometer per hour two-seam fastball to the first baseman to get out of the jam .In the second, he gave up a leadoff walk to Moon Bo-kyung, but then fried Park Dong-won with a 140 mph cutter in front of the shortstop. After giving up a leadoff single to Shin Min-jae in the bottom of the third, Cuevas teamed up with catcher Jang Jang-woo to nab Shin, who was trying to steal second base.
However, a batter later, Hong Chang-ki walked and Park Hae-min hit an infield single in front of the pitcher to put runners on first and second. Kim got Kim Hyun-soo to ground out to first, but then gave up a single to left to Austin with runners on first and third. This was LG’s chance to break Cuevas down. However, Cuevas remained steadfast and got Oh to fly out to right field to end the third inning without allowing another run .After a scoreless fourth and fifth inning, Cuevas gave up a 142 mph cutter to Oh in the top of the sixth for a solo shot over the right field wall .Two batters later, he gave up a single to left to Park Dong-won .Realizing it was his last hurdle, Cuevas struck out Moon Sung-ju on a 147-kilometer-per-hour fastball to left field to end the night. Cuevas made three starts in ten days between October 30 and November 8.After taking the loss in Game 1 of the playoffs (PO) against the NC Dinos on October 30, throwing 75 pitches in 3.2 innings and allowing 7 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits, Cuevas got the win in Game 4 of the PO on November 3, throwing 6.1 innings of scoreless baseball (73 pitches) on just three days’ rest. In the postseason, which is more demanding than the regular season, Cuevas started Game 2 of the KS on four days’ rest again.
In the fall of 2021, Cuevas was the best pitcher in the KBO.KT tied the Samsung Lions with 76 wins, nine ties, and 59 losses in the 2021 regular season and played the first-place game on Oct. 31 at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu. At the time, manager Lee Kang-cheol sent Cuevas, who threw 108 pitches against the NC Dinos on Oct. 28, to the mound for the deciding game, hoping that he would be able to “shut them down for two or three innings.” Cuevas exceeded Lee’s expectations. Thanks to Cuevas’ seven innings of one-hit ball and eight strikeouts, KT beat Samseong 1-0 to finish first in the regular season and punch a ticket to the Korean Series .On Nov. 14, Cuevas started Game 1 of the Korean Series against the Doosan Bears, allowing one run on seven hits and striking out eight in 7⅔ innings to earn the win. That year, KT ended the Korean Series in four games. In 2023, 온라인카지노 Cuevas will continue to lead KT to victory.