The LG Twins are one win away from their first regular season title in 29 years.
The LG Twins won the second game of a doubleheader against the KT Wiz in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League (15th game of the season) 3-0 on Sunday at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.
Leader LG, which swept the first and second games of the doubleheader, extended its winning streak to four games and improved to 80 wins (2 ties, 48 losses) on the season. At the same time in Changwon, NC dropped the second game of a doubleheader to KIA, reducing its magic number from eight to six.
Despite losing closer Ko Woo-seok and set-up man Jung Woo-young to the Hangzhou Asian Games squad, LG did not allow a single run in 22 innings, including a 6-9 loss to Hanwha in Jamsil on the 24th and two more games of the doubleheader (18 innings).
KT, on the other hand, dropped both games of the doubleheader to fall to 73-38 on the season with their second straight loss.
LG’s starting lineup was Hong Chang-ki (right fielder), Park Hae-min (center fielder), Kim Hyun-soo (first baseman), Austin Dean (designated hitter), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Kim Min-sung (third baseman), Lee Jae-won (left fielder), Seo Gun-chang (second baseman), and Heo Do-hwan (catcher).
KT countered with Choi Sung-ho (right fielder), Lee Ho-yeon (first baseman), Anthony Alford (left fielder), Jang Sung-woo (designated hitter), Bae Jeong-dae (center fielder), Kim Sang-soo (shortstop), Park Kyung-soo (second baseman), Jang Jun-won (third baseman), and Kang Hyun-woo (catcher).
After a bases-loaded walk in the first inning, LG struck first in the second. Leadoff hitter Austin Dean singled and reached third on an error. The ball hit KT starting pitcher Choi Bae-sung on the left shin, and although Choi promptly picked up the ball and threw to first base, a bad throw occurred. Austin used his quick feet to steal second and then third. Oh then broke the 0-0 tie with a sacrifice fly to center field. The game-winning hit.
In the fifth inning, Lee Jae-won calmly drew a walk after a seven-pitch at-bat and was replaced by pinch-hitter Shin Min-jae. Seo Gun-chang followed with a single to left field, but Shin Min-jae took advantage of a stolen base and a throwing error by catcher Kang Hyun-woo at second base to move to third, where Heo Do-hwan hit a run-scoring double. The center fielder tried to get to the ball, but it wasn’t enough.
LG didn’t stop there. After Hong Chang-ki led off with a walk, Park Hae-min drove in a run with a single to right. However, Park’s steal of second led to runners on second and third, but Kim Hyun-soo struck out to end the threat.
KT’s bats were plagued by a series of bad at-bats in the second game following the first. They had runners on first and second in the first inning and second and first in the second and fifth innings, and in the sixth inning, Ahn Chi-young and Lee Ho-yeon led off with back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second, but Alford flied out to left field and Jang Jang-woo grounded out to third to silence them.
In the eighth inning, the scoring drought continued. One out later, pinch-hitter Kim Jun-tae walked, Ahn Chi-young reached on a throwing error by second baseman Shin Min-jae, and Lee Ho-yeon singled to right to load the bases. But against reliever Kim Jin-sung, Alford struck out swinging and Jang Sung-woo flied out to center field. 카지노사이트가이드
Trailing 0-3 in the bottom of the ninth, Hwang Jae-gyun flied out to right field to end the threat.
LG starter Kim Yun-sik pitched five innings of two-hit, one-strikeout ball to improve to 6-4 on the season. He was followed by Lee Ji-gang, Park Myung-geun, Kim Jin-sung, and Yoo Young-chan. At the plate, Hong Chang-ki fulfilled his leadoff role with two hits and a walk.
Meanwhile, KT starter Yeo Byeol-seong suffered his ninth loss of the season (eight wins) after giving up one run (unearned) on two hits in 1⅔ innings. After being hit in the shin by an Austin pitch, he showed great determination to force the game, but was taken to the hospital for further examination after completing 1⅔ innings. Lee Ho-yeon’s three hits were not enough in the loss.
LG will try to make it five in a row at home against Samsung on the 28th. After a three-day break, KT will host Kiwoom at home on the first day of October.
