Sidearmer Ko looking to give Wiz commanding Korean Series lead; Lions counter with Paddack

SUWON, South Korea, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- The KT Wiz will try to go up two games to none against the Samsung Lions in the Korean Series by sending veteran sidearmer Ko Young-pyo to the hill Wednesday.

The Lions will counter with their American ace Chris Paddack, who will go on short rest for the second consecutive start.

The Wiz won the opening game of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) championship series on Tuesday by 8-7 at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, just south of Seoul.

Ko will be making his 12th career postseason appearance, having earlier helped the Wiz win the 2021 Korean Series title and finish runners-up in 2023.

This year, Ko tied for the regular-season lead with a career-high 15 wins, and he also set a new personal best with 183 strikeouts.

He had strong numbers against the Lions, with a 3-1 record and a 2.25 ERA in four starts. He only served up one home run in 24 innings against one of the KBO's top home run-hitting clubs.

Paddack pitched last Friday against the Kia Tigers in the fourth game of the previous series, tossing 99 pitches in 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball. It was Paddack's first career start on three days' rest -- he had thrown 94 pitches in Game 1 of that series -- and now he will be asked to make another outing on short rest.

Paddack threw six shutout innings in his only regular-season meeting against the Wiz on Aug. 29.

The Lions will try to get a split on the road before the Korean Series shifts to their home in the southeastern city of Daegu on Thursday.