KT Wiz homegrown ace Ko Young-pyo, who has been an ace all season, has faltered sharply in September.

In his 13th start of the season against the LG Twins in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Sept. 7, Ko gave up six runs on 10 hits (one home run) in six innings with three walks and six strikeouts. The team’s 4-11 loss was their seventh of the season, and Ko didn’t live up to expectations following his performance against the Gochuk Kium Heroes the previous day (5 innings, 9 hits (1 HR), 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, 6 runs).메이저사이트

This is the first time this season that Ko has taken the loss in back-to-back games and the first time he’s given up six runs. His ERA, which once dipped into the mid-2s, spiked to 2.74 on Day 1 and rose to 2.99 after Game 7.

On this day, Ko cruised through the first and second innings without allowing a run, but he got into trouble in the top of the third. He gave up a double to Moon Sung-joo and an infield single to Park Hae-min to put runners on first and second. Eventually, Hong Chang-ki hit an RBI double to end Ko’s no-hitter.

That wasn’t the end of it. In the top of the fourth inning, Ko was hit by a pitch with one out. Moon Bo-kyung singled and stole second, followed by Oh Ji-hwan’s RBI single, and Park Dong-won’s single and Oh Ji-hwan’s stolen base put runners on first and third. Eventually, Moon Sung-joo’s grounder to the first baseman allowed Oh Ji-hwan to score from third.

After a no-hitter in the fifth inning, Ko was unable to throw any more pitches as he was hit by a two-run shot from Oh in the top of the sixth. He managed to get out of the top of the sixth, but was forced to hand the mound over to the bullpen with the game on the line.