The leading LG Twins defeated the second-place KT Wiz after many twists and turns, with the game being suspended due to rain for over an hour and 40 minutes, and laid a favorable foundation for winning the regular season. They achieved valuable victories through decisive ‘net defense’ several times in the game.메이저사이트
LG won 5-4 in the 11th game of the season against KT of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 5th. They recently broke the chain of two consecutive losses and widened the gap with KT to 6.5 games.
On this day, LG had Hong Chang-ki (right fielder) – Shin Min-jae (second baseman) – Kim Hyun-soo (designated hitter) – Austin (1st baseman) – Moon Bo-kyung (3rd baseman) – Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop) – Heo Do-hwan (catcher) – Moon Seong-ju (left fielder) – Park Hae-min (center fielder) ) formed the starting lineup. Right-hander Choi Won-tae appeared as the starting pitcher.
KT is Cho Yong-ho (right fielder) – Hwang Jae-gyun (3rd baseman) – Alford (left fielder) – Park Byeong-ho (designated hitter) – Jang Seong-woo (catcher) – Oh Yun-seok (1st baseman) – Lee Ho-yeon (2nd baseman) – Bae Jeong-dae (center fielder) – Jang Jun-won (Shortstop) was the batting lineup. Foreign pitcher William Cuevas, who showed off a fearsome performance of 5 wins, undefeated, and 0.50 ERA in 5 games in August, faced Choi Won-tae as the starting pitcher.
LG took the lead in the top of the second inning. Moon Bo-kyung, who appeared as the leadoff hitter, hit a solo home run that went over the center wall to take the lead to 1-0.
LG was not satisfied with 1 point. After Oh Ji-hwan, the follow-up batter, hit a single to right, Heo Do-hwan’s sacrifice bunt gave the team a chance with one out and two bases on base. Oh Ji-hwan took advantage of Cuevas’ wild pitch during Moon Seong-ju’s at-bat and advanced to third base, then stepped on the home plate when Moon Seong-ju hit a grounder in front of second baseman, giving LG an additional point.
KT also quickly launched a counterattack. Park Byeong-ho, who appeared as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the second inning, hit a solo home run over the center field fence against Choi Won-tae, narrowing the score gap to 2-1.
LG responded with a strong attack. In the top of the third inning, leadoff hitters Austin and Moon Bo-kyung had successive hits and Oh Ji-hwan walked to get the bases loaded. Then, Heo Do-hwan’s 1-RBI outfield sacrifice fly made it 3-1. In the ensuing 1-out, 2nd and 3rd bases, Moon Seong-joo’s grounder in front of shortstop led to 3rd base runner Bo-kyung Moon stepping on home plate, making the score 4-1.
KT’s batting line also did not lag behind in the firepower battle. In the bottom of the third inning, leadoff hitter Cho Yong-ho succeeded in stealing second base after a walk, and immediately Jae-gyun Hwang hit a timely hit with an RBI to make it 4-2.
The flow of the game was greatly shaken by the sudden rain. The game was halted in the top of the fourth inning due to heavy rain before leadoff hitter Hong Chang-ki came to bat.
It took 1 hour and 44 minutes for the game, which was suspended at 7:44 p.m., to resume. After the rain stopped and ground maintenance was completed, the game resumed at 9:28 p.m.
The benches of both teams had no choice but to replace their starting pitchers early regardless of the number of pitches due to the game being stopped for a long time. Lee Sang-dong was brought in in the top of the 4th inning for KT, and Young-chan Yoo was brought in in the bottom of the 4th inning for LG.
KT continued their strong pursuit in the bottom of the 4th inning. After one out, Bae Jeong-dae exploded with a solo home run to lift the mood, and with two outs and two outs on second base, Hwang Jae-gyun’s timely hit with an RBI added one more point to balance the score at 4-4.
LG regained the lead in the top of the 6th inning. Leadoff hitter Hong Chang-gi’s double and Shin Min-jae’s sacrifice bunt led to a chance with one out and third base on the center batting line, and Kim Hyun-soo brought Hong Chang-gi home with a clean right-handed hit to take the lead back to 5-4.
Afterwards, LG’s bullpen silenced KT’s resistance without conceding a point. Kim Jin-seong in the bottom of the 6th inning and Baek Seung-hyun in the bottom of the 7th made a three-way strike against the KT batting lineup, protecting the lead.
In the bottom of the 8th inning, which was the biggest critical moment, the defense of captain and starting shortstop Oh Ji-hwan dominated the inning. With one out in the bottom of the 8th inning, LG was in crisis when Park Myung-geun allowed a double to Jang Seong-woo and then gave up a walk to pinch hitter Kim Min-hyuk, with one out and runners on first and second base.
LG coach Yeom Kyung-yeop made a game-winning move here by bringing in finisher Ko Woo-seok early. Go Woo-seok induced KT Lee Ho-yeon to land an infield ground ball with a 143 km long cut fastball on the third pitch with one ball, one strike. The bounced ball, which was difficult to handle, headed near second base, but LG Oh Ji-hwan’s perfect defense shone.
Right after the catch, Oh Ji-hwan naturally touched the second base base with his right foot, forcing out the runner on first base, and even caught the batter’s runner with a smooth throw to first base. It was a spectacular defense that broke KT’s will to chase and raised the mood in LG’s dugout.
LG Fielder’s defensive concentration was maintained in the bottom of the 9th inning. KT’s lead hitter Jeong Dae Bae sent a sharp ball to the outfield, but right fielder Hong Chang-gi caught it with an admirable diving catch, resulting in the first out count of the inning. It was a great secret that saved Go Woo-seok and LG.
LG was briefly in a sense of crisis when Go Woo-seok was hit by Moon Sang-cheol with one out, but Go Woo-seok did not waver. Cho Yong-ho hit a straight hit to shortstop and Hwang Jae-gyun struck out, putting an end to a long game.
According to the record, Kim Hyun-soo’s winning hit and the bullpen’s Lileri’s good pitch led to the victory, but what was decisive was Oh Ji-hwan’s defense in the bottom of the 8th and Hong Chang-ki’s defense in the bottom of the 9th. Preview showed a high level of play in the first game of the three-game series during the week, which was highly anticipated in the Korean Series.
With this victory, LG pushed KT to its fourth consecutive loss. With a season record of 68 wins, 43 losses, 2 draws, and a winning percentage of 0.613, they beat KT (63 wins, 51 losses, 2 draws, a winning percentage of 0.553) by 6.5 games, giving them a green light to become the future leader.
LG has 31 games left in the regular league, and KT has 28 games left, so if LG does not fall into a long losing streak, ‘1st place Mercury’ is in a slightly more advantageous position.
LG has 16 wins and 15 losses in 31 games, recording a final winning percentage of 0.591 even if it only records over .500. In this case, the rankings of both teams can change only if KT wins 21 out of 28 games.