Park Hae-min reacts after making a hit during a match against the Samsung Lions at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on May 12.NEWS1
The LG Twins reclaimed first place in the KBO standings just one day after slipping into second with an 8-2 victory over the Samsung Lions on Wednesday.
One day after surrendering first place to Samsung with a loss, LG avenged the defeat. The winner of Thursday's rubber match at Samsung Lions Park will secure first place at the end of the league's first half.
During Wednesday’s match, the Twins fell behind 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning after starter Im Chan-kyu surrendered a two-run homer to the Lions’ Choi Hyoung-woo.
The Twins made an equalizer in the top of the third. After two outs, hitter Park Hae-min reached on an infield single to first, stole second base and scored on Austin Dean's RBI single. Moon Bo-gyeong followed with another run-scoring hit to tie the game at 2-2.
The Twins mounted another two-out rally in the fourth inning. Oh Ji-hwan, Lee Jae-won, Gu Bon-hyeok and Hong Chang-ki strung together four consecutive hits, producing three runs to give the Twins a 5-2 lead.
The Lions attempted to shift the momentum in the fifth by bringing in their third pitcher, Miyaji Yura. But the reliever was ejected after throwing a pitch that struck LG catcher Park Dong-won's helmet brim, which forced him to leave the ground after facing just one batter and throwing three pitches.
LG Twins catcher Park Dong-won runs after hitting a homer against the Samsung Lions in Daegu on July 7.NEWS1
LG all but sealed the victory in the sixth with two more runs on Park Hae-min's RBI single and a wild pitch by the Lions' reliever Lee Jae-hee.
Leadoff hitter Hong Chang-ki of the Twins went 2-for-4 with a walk, two RBIs and a run scored, while No. 2 hitter Park Hae-min finished 3-for-5 with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base.
Wednesday’s loss snapped the Lions’ five-game winning streak.
Elsewhere, the Doosan Bears defeated the SSG Landers 7-3 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium to lock up fifth place heading into the first-half break. Bears starter Gwak Been earned his eighth win of the season against three losses after allowing one run on two hits and one walk while striking out seven over seven innings.
Gwak Been of the Doosan Bears pitches during a match against the Kia Tigers in Gwangju on June 14.YONHAP
At Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, the eighth-place Lotte Giants routed the fourth-place Kia Tigers 11-3. Lotte's foreign slugger Victor Reyes, who collected four hits the previous day, stayed hot by going 3-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored. The Tigers committed a series of costly errors in key moments and extended their losing streak to four games.
The KT Wiz defeated the last-place Kiwoom Heroes 7-3 in Suwon for their third straight victory, while Kiwoom dropped its fourth consecutive game. Veteran KT infielder Heo Kyoung-min led the offense by going 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
The scheduled game between the Hanwha Eagles and the NC Dinos in Daejeon was postponed because of rain.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
