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The Korea Baseball Organization announced that a total of four games, including the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League Doosan Bears-KIA Tigers (Gwangju), KT Wiz-Hanwha Eagles (Daejeon), Kiwoom Heroes-Lotte Giants (resignation), and Samsung Lions-NC Dinos (Changwon), were canceled due to rain.
At Gwangju-KIA Champions Field, Doosan and KIA were scheduled to play Game 14 of the season. The two teams had announced Raul Alcantara and Hwang Dong-ha as starters, respectively. Rain began to fall in Gwangju this morning, and the rain became thicker in the afternoon. The Korea Meteorological Administration issued a heavy rain warning in Gwangju at 1:53 p.m., and the decision to cancel the rain was announced at 3:35 p.m. when Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop was interviewed.
Large tarps had been installed in preparation for heavy rain after the previous day's game, but water holes had already been formed throughout the ground. Ground maintenance was not easy. It is also expected to rain until the afternoon of the 17th according to the Korea Meteorological Administration's forecast. It is unclear whether the game will be held on the 16th as well as the next day.
With both teams set to push ahead with eight consecutive games due to the organization of the game on the 18th, Doosan will start Raul Alcantara in the game on the 17th without making any changes. For Doosan, whose starting rotation has been twisted with the confirmation of eight consecutive games, it is regrettable that "native ace" Kwak Bin cannot play two games before joining the national team at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. According to the current rotation, he is likely to head to the national team after taking the mound against KIA on the 18th.
Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop said, "We have to rethink the rotation of pitchers. In this case, Kwak Bin will not be able to throw on the 22nd (the scheduled date for the mound), so he has to think about who will fill the spot. "I think it's going to be messy, so I think I need to repair it again," he said.
For KIA, Thomas Panoni, who took a four-day break, will start on the 17th, and alternative starter Hwang Dong-ha will start the game on the 18th. KIA coach Kim Jong-kook, who conducted an interview before the decision to cancel the rain, said, "The selection could change. Panoni will leave on the 17th and Hwang Dong-ha will leave on the 18th, he said.
Like Doosan, KIA, which has to play eight consecutive games, is also burdened. This is already the 23rd rain cancellation, and KIA's concerns are growing due to rain. Head coach Kim Jong-kook expressed concern, saying, "It's raining too much, so I think we need to prepare for (8 consecutive games)."
The 12th game of the season between KT and Hanwha, which was scheduled to be held at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, was also not held. If the game began normally on the 16th, "Ace" pitchers representing each team, William Cuevas and Ricardo Sanchez, were set to face off as starters.
It rained in Daejeon from the morning, and the rain became stronger after 3 p.m. It rained so much that it looked foggy ahead. The ground condition was not good due to the rain on the previous day, and the cancellation of the game was finally decided at 3:30 as more rain poured in.
As the game was canceled, the two teams had another rough schedule. KT and Hanwha are planning a double header on the 17th. The rain-pushed 16th game will be held on the 18th, which is scheduled for the preliminary day, and if the double header is played normally, KT and Hanwha will have to play nine consecutive games starting with two games on the 17th and ending on the 24th.
As the game was canceled, Cuevas and Sanchez, who were starters on the day, will play in the first round of the doubleheader on the 17th. However, there is also a rain forecast in the afternoon of the 17th, so it is still unclear whether these players will start in the first game, which starts at 2 p.m. For Hanwha, either Lee Tae-yang or Han Seung-joo is expected to prepare for Monday's game.
KT, who will meet KIA next week, is also confused. KT, which has seven confrontations left, will play three consecutive games against KIA in Gwangju from the 22nd, and starting pitchers will have to take the mound again on the 4th as the game takes place on Monday.
It was also "rain" that prevented the showdown between Lotte and Kiwoom, which was scheduled to take place at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan. Heavy rain fell in Busan from the morning, and a heavy rain warning was in effect, so the ground was not in good condition. As the rain did not stop over time, the rain cancellation was confirmed, and fans of both teams could not see Kim Sun-ki and Aaron Wilkerson's starting showdown.
Kiwoom will take a two-day break on the 17th and 18th, while Lotte will have to go to Daegu Samsung Lions Park for an away game against the Samsung Lions on the 17th. After taking a break on the 18th, he will face Kiwoom at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 19th. Lotte's starting pitcher on the 17th is Park Se-woong.
It is fortunate that the three stadiums have preliminary days, but Samsung and NC, which do not have preliminary days, have to prepare separate game schedules. The two teams have two matches left this season, and the canceled game is expected to be reorganized in mid-October. With NC winning 8-1 in the previous day's game, Kim Dae-woo and Eric Pedi were scheduled to take the starting mound if the game had progressed. Samsung met Lotte at home on the 17th and assigned Taylor Wider to the starting position. NC takes a breather for two days.
Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, the only one among the five stadiums to avoid rain cancellation, is also full of dark clouds, while SSG Landers and LG are preparing for the first game of three consecutive games, including a doubleheader. Oh Won-seok and Casey Kelly will face off as starters. SSG aims to escape its second consecutive win, and LG aims to win two consecutive games.
