2024-07-29 14:34:14
The KIA Tigers, the leader in professional baseball, broke their three-game losing streak by defeating the Kiwoom Heroes thanks to back-to-back home runs by Kim Seon-bin and Byun Woo-hyuk in the 9th inning when they were down 2-3.
KIA won a comeback victory 4-3 against Kiwoom in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League match held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 28th.
KIA, which succeeded in breaking out of a three-game losing streak, became the first among the 10 teams to reach 60 wins (2 draws, 38 losses) and solidified its lead. On the other hand, Kiwoom failed to win four games in a row after losing a win it had in its sights, failing to escape last place with 41 wins and 56 losses.
On this day, Kiwoom took the lead. KIA starting pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong induced a ground ball from leadoff hitter Lee Joo-hyung in the first inning, but third baseman Kim Do-young failed to catch the ball, allowing the runner to get on base. He then gave up a timely double to right-center to Song Seong-moon and a timely hit to left-center to Choi Joo-hwan, falling behind 0-2.
Yang Hyeong-jong also cried due to a defensive error in the 4th inning. With 2 outs and runners on 3rd base, Yang Hyeon-jong induced an infield ground ball from Kim Jae-hyeon, but shortstop Park Chan-ho missed the ball, giving up another run.
On the other hand, the KIA batting lineup was tied up by Kiwoom starting pitcher Enmanuel de Geisus until the 7th inning and failed to get a chance.
However, starting from the 8th inning when Heisus left, KIA started to fight back. In the 8th inning, KIA got Lee Chang-jin on a walk against Kiwoom bullpen pitcher Yang Ji-yul, and then Choi Won-jun hit a two-run home run over the right-center field fence to close the gap to 2-3.
Then, in the top of the 9th inning, with two outs and no runners on base, Kim Seon-bin and Kim Seong-min hit back-to-back at-bats against the new pitcher, Kim Seong-min, turning the game around.
Lim Ki-young, who came on the mound in the bottom of the 8th inning with 2 outs, went up to the mound again in the bottom of the 9th inning and shut out the game without giving up a run, becoming the winning pitcher (5 wins, 2 losses).
In Jamsil, the Hanwha Eagles won 9-6 in a slugfest against the LG Twins, extending their winning streak to three games.
Hanwha has 41 wins, 2 draws, and 53 losses (9th place), maintaining a half-game gap with 8th place Lotte. On the other hand, LG, whose winning streak stopped at ‘7’, has 53 wins, 2 draws, and 41 losses, widening the gap with the leader KIA to 6 games again.
The two teams engaged in a slugfest early on, and both starting pitchers were taken off the mound early. Hanwha starting pitcher Ryan Weiss left the mound after giving up three runs in the first inning, and LG starting pitcher Choi Won-tae was taken off the mound after giving up six runs in three innings.
The winner of the bullpen battle was Hanwha. Hanwha was barely holding on to a 6-5 lead when Ahn Chi-hong and Ha Ju-seok hit consecutive RBIs in the 7th inning to make it 8-5. In the top of the 8th inning, Hanwha took advantage of the opponent’s wild pitch with 2 outs and a runner on 3rd base to score another run.
LG missed a chance to turn the game around in the bottom of the 8th inning when Ji-Hwan Oh hit into a double play with runners on 1st and 3rd base and no outs, trailing 5-9.
In literature, SSG Landers swept Doosan Bears thanks to starter Song Young-jin’s shutout pitch.
SSG, which has won three games in a row, now has 49 wins, 1 draw, and 48 losses, and is now tied for 4th place with KT Wiz, who won that day. Doosan, which has lost four games in a row, has dropped to 6th place with 51 wins, 2 draws, and 50 losses.
SSG starter Song Young-jin pitched 5⅔ innings, allowing 5 hits, 2 walks, striking out 4, and no runs to earn his 4th win (5 losses) of the season.
At the plate, Ha Jae-hoon, the 8th right fielder, shined. In the 7th inning, with a narrow 1-0 lead and no outs and a runner on first base, Ha Jae-hoon hit a two-run home run over the left-center field fence against Doosan bullpen Kim Myeong-shin, sealing the game.
SSG closing pitcher Seung-won Moon went up to the mound in the 9th inning and allowed a hit to leadoff hitter Yu-chan Lee, but he pitched a shutout to earn his 19th save of the season (3 wins, 1 loss).
In Changwon, Lotte won 10-6 over the NC Dinos in a ten-inning extra inning to make it two wins in a row.
Lotte maintained its 8th place with 41 wins, 3 draws, and 52 losses, half a game ahead of 9th place Hanwha. NC suffered two consecutive losses and fell from a joint 5th place to 7th place with 47 wins, 2 draws, and 48 losses.
Na Seung-yeop, who started as Lotte’s 5th batter and first baseman, led the team to victory with 4 hits (1 home run) in 5 at-bats, 3 RBIs, and 4 runs, including a home run.
The two teams were tied at 6-6 until the end of the regular innings, and the player who broke the tie was Na Seung-yeop.
Lotte, which had a chance to have a runner on first base with no outs thanks to a right-field hit by leadoff hitter Reyes, made it 7-6 when Na Seung-yeop hit a 1-RBI double over the right fielder’s head against NC’s closer Lee Yong-chan.
After that, Lotte sealed the victory by scoring one more point with an opposing error, one more point with Park Seung-wook’s sacrifice fly, and one more point with Ko Seung-min’s RBI double.
Meanwhile, in Daegu, KT won a comeback victory over Samsung Lions 4-3.
KT is tied for 4th place with SSG with 49 wins, 2 draws, and 48 losses. On the other hand, Samsung is tied for 4th place with 51 wins, 2 draws, and 47 losses, 1.5 games behind the teams tied for 4th place.
(Seoul = News 1)
2024-07-29 14:34:14