LG completed a thrilling reversal drama and took three consecutive games during the week to the Winning Series.
The LG Twins, led by head coach Yeom Kyung-yeop, beat head coach Kang In-kwon's NC Dinos 8-7 in the 2024 professional baseball KBO League regular season home game held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 4th.
LG lost 5-7 in its first game on Tuesday, but defeated NC on Monday following a 5-0 victory. The team has recorded six wins, one draw and four losses. On the other hand, NC, which lost two games in a row, saw its uptrend slow down and ended its fourth loss six wins.
In addition to pitcher Detrick Ens, Park Hae-min center fielder, Hong Chang-ki right fielder, Kim Hyun-soo designated hitter, Austin Dean first baseman, Moon Bo-kyung third baseman, Oh Ji-hwan striker, Park Dong-won catcher, Moon Sung-joo left fielder and Shin Min-jae second baseman were listed in the starting lineup.
In response, NC has established a lineup of players including Choi Jeong-won 2nd baseman, Kwon Hee-dong left fielder, Son A-seop designated hitter, Matt Davison 1st baseman, Park Kun-woo right fielder, Seo Ho-cheol 3rd baseman, Kim Sung-wook center fielder, Kim Hyung-joon pitch and Kim Joo-won striker. The starting pitcher is Kim Si-hoon.
It was NC`s job to get the upper hand in the first inning. With one out in the top of the first inning, Kwon Hee-dong had a hit in the middle, opening the game. Son A-seop also hit a hit in the middle, and settled down at the second base while the opponent team`s center fielder sprayed the ball to block Kwon from rushing to the third base. With one out and runners on the second and third bases, Davidson hit a grounder to the second base, and Kwon hit a home run in the meantime.
LG didn't just watch. With the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the first inning with a walk by Park Hae-min, a critical hit by Hong Chang-ki, and a walk by Kim Hyun-soo, Austin and Kim Hyun-soo respectively had a timely two-run shot and a sacrifice fly to center field. However, with Oh Ji-hwan's fly to left field, Park Dong-won hit a double that fell to the left side of the left field, but Austin, who was penetrating into the home ground, was out.
NC, which prevented further gaps, led the game to a big inning in the top of the second inning, turning the tables at once. Seo Ho-cheol, Kim Sung-wook, and Kim Hyung-joon connected the bases loaded with no outs with a double to the left, a hit to the middle, and a walk, respectively. Then Kim Joo-won hit a timely RBI left-handed, and even Kim Sung-wook took advantage of the opponent's wild pitch.
Once ignited, the firepower of NC's batters hardly cooled down. With no outs and runners on the second and third bases, Choi Jung-won grounded out to the second base, and third baseman Kim Hyung-joon scored a run. With one out and a runner on the second base, Kwon Hee-dong hit a timely double that cut through the left-center field, and with two out and a runner on the second base, made by Son A-seop's grounder, Davidson also hit a timely hit to the left.
NC, which gained momentum, ran away one more time in the top of the third inning. The leadoff hitter Kim Sung-wook opened the door with a hit that fell in the middle of the rain. Kim Hyung-joon then struck out, but Kim Sung-wook led the atmosphere by stealing second base. Since then, he stole even the third base in a row and eventually homered on Kim Joo-won's ground ball to the third base.
Hit in succession, LG started to chase after him in the bottom of the third inning. With runners on the first and third bases with one out, which were connected by consecutive hits by Moon Bo-kyung and Oh Ji-hwan, Park Dong-won hit a timely hit to the center of the RBI. With runners on the first and third bases with one out, Moon also hit a timely hit to the left.
LG, which had been watching for a chance, finally balanced the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. After one out, Hong Chang-ki walked out. The follow-up hitter Kim Hyun-soo stopped short of a fly to right field, but Austin fired a two-run arch with a flying distance of 116.6 meters that directly hit the pole on the left side. It was the moment when Austin's third homer of the season came out.
NC, which allowed the game to be tied, lost the opportunity to go ahead again in the top of the seventh inning. Successive hits by Davidson and Park Kun-woo made it to the first and second bases with no outs. Seo Ho-cheol then appeared to bunt, but he took out the bat, and Park Min-woo, who was at the second base as Davidson's pinch runner, was out at the third base. The scene seemed to be a sign miss, given circumstances. With two outs and runners on the first and third bases that led to Seo's hit and Kim Sung-wook's walk, Kim Hyung-joon turned to fly to center field.
NC didn't even have a chance at the top of the ninth inning. After Park Min-woo hit a right-handed hit, Park Kun-woo stopped with a grounder to the shortstop, but opposing shortstop Oh Ji-hwan failed to catch it perfectly, connecting the first and second bases with no outs. Afterwards, Seo Ho-cheol's bunt attempt ended up being a catcher's foul fly, which seemed to dampen the mood, but Kim Seong-wook's throw connected the bases loaded with one out. However, both Kim Hyung-joon and Kim Joo-won failed to secure a point as they remained silent due to strikeouts.
But LG missed the opportunity, too. Moon Bo-kyung's walk and Oh Ji-hwan's sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the ninth inning continued to lead to a runner on second base with one out, but Park Dong-won grounded out to the third base, and pinch runner Choi Seung-min, who was rushing to the third base belatedly, was also out. That's how the game ended in overtime.
The NC Dinosaurs had a chance to get a chance to play the game first. Park Min-woo's right-handed hit and Park Kun-woo's walk in the top of the 11th inning connected the first and second bases with no outs. However, Seo Ho-cheol turned to a 4-6-3 double play, and the flow was cut off. With Kim Seong-wook's walk continuing, Kim Hyung-joon grounded out to the second base and remained silent.
The goddess of victory smiled at LG in the bottom of the 11th inning. With runners on the second and third bases with one out and a runner on the right field made up of walks by Hong Chang-ki and Kim Hyun-soo, and a big fly by Austin, Koo Bon-hyuk hit a walk-off hit that missed the ball to the right field, giving LG the victory.
LG's starting pitcher N.S. showed poor performance as he allowed nine hits, two strikeouts and seven runs in four innings. Instead, Choi Dong-hwan 2 scoreless innings, Yun Ho-sol 0.1 scoreless innings, Kim Jin-seong 1.2 scoreless innings, Yoo Young-chan 1 scoreless innings, and Kim Yoo-young win, 2 scoreless innings contributed to suppressing the loss. In the batting lineup, Koo Bon-hyuk 1 hit, one RBI in one at bat, the hero of the walk-off hit, shined out. Austin two hits, one homer, four RBIs from five times at bat, Moon Sung-joo two hits, one RBI from four times at bat, and Park Dong-won two hits, one RBI from five innings also supported the team.
NC's starting pitcher Kim Si-hoon also failed to show any remarkable performance with six hits, four outs and one strikeout, and five runs in 2.1 innings. Choi Sung-young 2.2 scoreless innings, Kim Jae-yeol two runs in 1 inning, Ryu Jin-wook one scoreless inning, Lim Jung-ho one scoreless inning, Lee Yong-chan one run in 1.2 innings and Lee Joon-ho loss, one run in 0.1 innings. Kwon Hee-dong three hits, one RBI in 6 at-bats, Davison two hits, two RBIs in 4 at-bats, and Kim Sung-wook two hits in 3 at-bats fought hard, but the team's defeat faded it.
After the game, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said, "It became a difficult game as the pitching of the first half of the game was driven to the center, and in that situation, the bullpen blocked seven scoreless innings, creating a foundation for victory. In a situation where we needed a point to follow, Austin's two-run home run was able to bring the game flow to our advantage," adding, "In the 11th inning when the chance was created, Koo Bon-hyuk played a decisive role in the victory by making his first overtime win of this season with a lucky hit."
"I want to compliment the beasts for not giving up and showing their concentration until the end," Yeom said. "Thanks to the fans who supported me without returning home late, I was able to come from behind to win the playoff game. Thank you," he said and left the ground.
Koo Bon-hyuk, who contributed the most to the victory, said, "It was my dream to have a finishing hit. In the past, I was a player who could never go out on such an opportunity. I was happy to go out, and I wanted to play better, but I don't really feel good laughs because I got a lucky hit. I wanted to play better, but I think the result was good."
"In the past, I used to like it even if it was a lucky hit, but now I have confidence and want to hit a good hit," he said. "I tried to hit it coolly, but the hit came out. I was glad that the result was good." 메이저사이트