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Twins bounce back to defeat Giants, snagging series win at home

Published: 17 Apr. 2026, 08:45

Moon Sung-ju of the LG Twins hits a two-run single against the Lotte Giants during the clubs' Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on April 16, 2026. [LG TWINS]

A day after having their eight-game winning streak snapped, the LG Twins went right back to the victory column Thursday night in the KBO.

Moon Sung-ju broke a 3-3 tie with a two-out, two-run single in the sixth, and the bullpen hung tough over the late innings, as the Twins edged out the Lotte Giants 7-4 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul.

After taking two out of three games against the Giants this week, the Twins improved to 11-5-0 (wins-losses-ties) for the season. The Giants are now 6-10-0. The game was played before a sellout crowd of over 23,000, the 10th time in 11 home games that the Twins packed the historic stadium set to be demolished after this season.

The Giants struck first in the top of the first inning against starter Yonny Chirinos, with Victor Reyes, who led off the game with a double, scoring on another double by Yoon Dong-hee.

After Chirinos wiggled out of a two-out, two-on jam in the top of the second, the Twins tied things up in the bottom half of that inning, thanks to Cheon Seong-ho's one-out double off starter Elvin Rodriguez. Chirinos got into even more trouble in the third, loading the bases with two outs on a single, an infield error and a walk. But the right-hander struck out No. 8 hitter Son Seong-bin on a 2-2 sweeper.

The Twins made the Giants pay for their missed opportunities by taking a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third. Lee Young-bin began the rally with an infield single before Austin Dean brought him home with a groundout. The Twins then went up 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth when cleanup hitter Moon Bo-gyeong delivered a two-out RBI single.

The Twins' bullpen failed to make the lead stand, though.

LG Twins reliever Woo Kang-hoon pitches against the Lotte Giants during the clubs' Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on April 16, 2026. [LG TWINS]

After giving up a leadoff single in the top of the sixth, reliever Jang Hyun-sik got two quick outs. But he couldn't get past Reyes, who blasted a game-tying two-run home run to left center field.

The Twins punched right back in the bottom of the sixth with Rodriguez out of the game. They loaded the bases with a single and two walks against reliever Choi E-jun. With two outs, Moon Sung-ju lined a single to right field to bring home two runs for a 5-3 lead.

Reliever Woo Kang-hoon worked a perfect top seventh that included two strikeouts, which set the stage for two more runs for the Twins' offense in the bottom of the seventh. Park Dong-won's RBI fielder's choice pushed the Twins' lead to 6-3, before Shin Min-jae followed with a run-scoring single.

The Giants rallied with a run in the top of the eighth on Reyes' sacrifice fly off Kim Jin-sung, but then the Twins' defense came through.

With a runner at second, No Jin-hyuk drove the ball to the deep right-center gap for what appeared to be an RBI double. But the speedy right fielder Choi Won-yeong, who'd entered the game as a pinch-runner in the bottom of the seventh, ran it down and made the grab on the warning track to preserve a 7-4 lead for the Twins.

Closer You Young-chan then struck out two in a three-up, three-down ninth inning for his ninth save of the season.

Yonhap