NC, which finished fourth in the regular season, won the second game of the playoffs (PO) 3-2 against second-place KT at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on May 31. With the win, NC improved to 2-0 in the series and is one win away from advancing to the Korean Series (KS) for the first time in three years after winning the 2020 title. There have been a total of 17 times in history that a team has swept Game 1 and Game 2 in a best-of-three PO, with 15 of them (88.2%) advancing to the KS.

NC's Kim Joo-won is congratulated after catching KT's Oh Yoon-seok's hit to end the game during the second inning of the 2023 Baseball Playoffs at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Nov. 31.

NC, which had won three straight games in the KS Games 4-6 against Doosan in 2020, swept six games in a row from the wild-card decider to the semifinal playoffs (semi-PO) Games 1-3 and PO Game 2 this year to increase its PS winning streak to nine. He tied the record with Hae-tae, who won nine games in a row from Game 4 of the 1987 PO to Game 3 of the 1988 KS. NC was not invited to the fall baseball stage in 2021 and 2022.

With the score 3-0 in their favor until the end of the seventh inning, NC began to falter. In the bottom of the eighth inning, a single by KT's Choi Jae-dae and an error by NC's left fielder Kwon Hee-dong put runners on first and second and third. KT's bats came alive in the bottom of the eighth inning with three pinch-hitters and one runner on base. As a result, KT scored a run on Oh Yoon-seok's sacrifice fly and Kim Sang-soo's RBI single up the middle to narrow the gap to 2-3. NC sent closer Lee Yong-chan to the mound with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, but he was unable to put out the fire as he gave up an RBI single to Kim Sang-soo.

NC players celebrate after winning the second game of the 2023 Baseball Playoffs at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Nov. 31.

The crisis continued in the ninth inning when Lee Yong-chan returned to the mound. Lee gave up hits to KT's Park Byung-ho and Jang Jang-woo, putting runners on first and third with no outs. The game took a strange turn when second baseman Park Min-woo got caught up in a dynamic play while trying to cover second base and allowed Jang Jang-woo to score. At least the tie seemed to be a reality, but Lee Yong-chan struck out Moon Sang-chul and Kim Jun-tae.

Yong-chan, who had allowed a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning the day before, faced Oh Yoon-seok in the bottom of the second inning. On the fourth pitch, Oh Yoon-seok hit a ball that NC shortstop Kim Joo-won threw toward third base and caught it. NC manager Kang In-hwa also caught what he thought was a hit at the right moment, ending the game. KT requested a video replay, but it didn't change the outcome.

NC starting pitcher Shin Min-hyuk pitches during the second inning of the 2023 Baseball Playoffs at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Nov. 31.

The game was a back-and-forth affair in the final innings, but NC starter Shin Min-hyuk was the main reason for the victory. In his first-ever postseason appearance, the right-hander pitched six and one-third innings of scoreless relief, allowing just one hit to earn the win.

Shin was dominant in the first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, retiring the side in order. He finished the inning with five pitches in the first and seven in the fifth. By the fifth inning, he had only thrown 50 pitches. His fastball topped out at 144 kilometers per hour and he threw a total of 81 pitches, 35 changeups and 28 cutters.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Shin Min-hyuk ran into trouble when he walked Alford and Park Byung-ho on a throwing error by the second baseman, but reliever Ryu Jin-wook turned a grounder in front of the pitcher into a double play to escape the jam. Shin Min-hyuk was named the game's MVP. The game was attended by 15,453 fans at KT Wiz Park. 스포츠토토맨