(LEAD) Wiz ace not dwelling on past, counterpart seeking better execution in crucial KBO postseason game

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By Yoo Jee-ho

SUWON, South Korea, Oct. 8 (Yonhap) -- KT Wiz right-hander William Cuevas has not beaten the LG Twins over his six-year Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) career, with a 0-4 record in nine regular season starts with a 9.00 ERA.

And as he prepares to face the same Twins in a crucial postseason game Wednesday afternoon, Cuevas said he couldn't care less about those past outings.

"The postseason is another thing," the Venezuelan pitcher told Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, just south of Seoul, where the Wiz were to host the Twins in Game 3 of the first round in the postseason. The best-of-five series is tied at 1-1.

"I think everybody might be talking about that. I don't have that in my head," Cuevas added.

As he noted, Cuevas did pitch well against the Twins in last year's Korean Series, holding them to two runs in six innings for a no-decision in Game 2, which the Wiz lost 5-4.

But regular-season games have been a far different story. He has allowed 60 hits in just 43 innings, with 23 strikeouts against 25 walks.

Depending on how Tuesday's game plays out, Cuevas will either try to send the Wiz to the next round or save their season and force a deciding Game 5 for Friday. The Wiz will hope that the postseason version of Cuevas, who has a career 2.41 ERA with a 4-1 record in postseason outings, will show up Wednesday, not the regular-season version that has had trouble against the Twins.

He has already proven his postseason mettle this month, throwing six shutout innings against the Doosan Bears for a 4-0 victory in a wild card game last Wednesday.

"My body is feeling pretty good," Cuevas said of pitching on six days' rest. "My arm is not bothering me. My body in general is in pretty good condition so I cannot complain."

And the 33-year-old pitcher said he wasn't going to get ahead of himself and he will instead cheer on his rotation mate, Wes Benjamin, to take care of business Tuesday evening.

"For me, the plan is thinking about today. I don't like to think about tomorrow," Cuevas said. "Let's see what happens today. Bengie hopefully is going to throw a hell of a game, and then we can think about tomorrow. But I'd like to keep my head in today."

While Cuevas will pitch after six days of break, his counterpart for Wednesday, Dietrich Enns, will take the mound after just three days' rest, after starting the opening game of this series Saturday.

The former major leaguer said this "might be the first time" he will pitch on short rest in his career. But his body has been responding well to the new routine, the left-hander added.

"My body is getting taken care of by the trainers really well," Enns told Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday. "So just made a couple adjustments to the routine just to manage the workload."

Enns gave up three runs on five hits, including a two-run homer by Moon Sang-chul, in 5 1/3 innings Saturday. He said he "executed pretty well for the most part" but the Wiz hitters put some good swings.

"In the playoffs, every run matters. So just trying to do my best for next time out, and try and just limit the runs scored," Enns said. "Just try and continue to take it one pitch at a time, and execute at a high level."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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