Running harder for the win. The LG Twins further solidified their lead.

LG won the 10th game of the season against the SSG Landers 8-4 at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on April 18. With the win, LG extended its lead over second-place SSG to eight games. SSG, on the other hand, lost their fourth straight game, putting their second place in jeopardy.

With SSG’s Kirk McCarty and LG’s Won-tae Choi on the mound, neither team scored easily. LG missed an early opportunity in the first inning when Moon Bo-kyung struck out swinging with runners on first and second. In the top of the third inning, back-to-back singles by Park Hae-min and Hong Chang-gi put runners on first and second with no outs, but LG’s center fielders of Kim Hyun-soo and Austin Dean failed to produce any hits.

However, in the bottom of the fourth inning, SSG took the lead with a home run. After a leadoff single by Choo Shin-soo, Choi Ji-hoon grounded into an infield single. Choi was hit by a pitch to load the bases. With runners on first and second, Choi Joo-hwan, the fourth batter of the day, stepped up to the plate.

Facing Choi Won-tae, Choi hit a four-pitch, 145-kilometer fastball in the 2B1S for a three-run home run over the right field fence. SSG took a 3-0 lead.

LG couldn’t completely shake McCarty. Trailing by three runs with one out in the top of the sixth, Kim Hyun-soo and Austin hit back-to-back singles, but Moon Bo-kyung and Moon Sung-joo struck out in succession.

SSG then scored one more run. In the bottom of the sixth, Choo Shin-soo singled and Choi Ji-hoon bunted to load the bases. Choi Jeong-jeong drew a walk to put runners on second and third. Choi Ju-hwan drew an automatic walk to load the bases. With two outs, Kang Jin-sung hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Choo Shin-soo from third to give SSG a 4-0 lead.

However, after McCarty was removed, LG took advantage of SSG’s bullpen to tie the game. In the top of the seventh, LG drew two consecutive walks against Moon Seung-won, and Park Hae-min led off with a single.

Hong Chang-ki was caught on an outfield fly, but Park Dong-won’s hit allowed second baseman Kim Min-sung to cross the plate. It was a bit unfortunate that Park Hae-min was tagged out between third and home on an overthrow.

But the chances continued. Kim Hyun-soo walked to put runners on first and second again. Austin singled to right field, and when SSG right fielder Han Yoo-seom made a terrible throwing error, both LG runners scored. Austin advanced to third base. The score was tied at 4-4.

The rest of the game was close. In the top of the eighth inning, LG failed to capitalize on a bases-loaded walk by Kim Min-sung, and in the bottom of the eighth, SSG went silent after a leadoff walk by Choo Shin-soo.

In the top of the ninth, LG missed a one-out, two-run opportunity, and SSG’s offense began in the bottom of the inning. Leadoff hitter Kim Sung-hyun drew a walk against LG closer Ko Woo-seok. Han Yoo-seom then attempted a sacrifice bunt. Go Woo-seok caught the bunt and chose second base, and was called out after video review. The game went into extra innings after a frustrating offense.

With one out in the top of the 10th inning, LG had back-to-back singles by Moon Bo-kyung and Moon Sung-joo to put runners on first and third, but the precious opportunity was squandered when the third baseman was tagged out at home in an attempted double steal. With the flow broken, LG retired Jung Joo-hyun on a standing strikeout.

Extra innings continue. LG finally broke through in the top of the 12th inning. Two outs and no runners on base. Moon Bo-kyung hit a home run off Choi Min-joon, who was pitching on a full count. On a full count, Moon launched a 137-kilometer cutter over the right field fence at Incheon Stadium.

It didn’t end there. Moon Sung-joo drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. Jeong Joo-hyun hit the game-winning home run for LG. This time, a two-run home run over the left field fence. With a three-run lead, LG got another home run from Kim Min-sung. Kim Min-sung crushed SSG’s last hopes of a comeback as he smashed a two-run solo home run off of reliever Lee Rin. 파워볼