LG Twins closer Son Ju-young pitches in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul on July 2.NEWS1
The LG Twins moved back within striking distance of No. 2 in the KBO after a 4-3 win over the Hanwha Eagles extended their winning streak to seven games.
The home victory at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Sunday. No. 3-ranked LG, which has won seven straight games, narrowed the gap with the No. 2-ranked Samsung Lions to two games and reignited the race for No. 2 and a direct berth in the playoffs.
LG took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when Lee Jae-won hit a two-run homer to left with one out and a runner on first. Hanwha rallied to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth, putting LG on the back foot.
LG responded in the bottom half. Park Hae-min led off with a double, and Austin Dean tied the game with an RBI single with one out and a runner on third. Dean then stole second with two outs before Moon Jeong-bin delivered a go-ahead RBI single.
LG protected the one-run lead from the sixth inning as relievers Kim Kang-ryul, Jon Kennedy and Son Ju-young combined for four scoreless innings. Kim pitched one inning, Kennedy two and Son one.
Son, who took over as closer for the first time this year, became the second pitcher this season to reach 30 saves. No. 9-ranked Hanwha suffered its seventh consecutive loss.
LG Twins’ Austin Dean celebrates at first base after hitting a single against the Samsung Lions in the top of the third inning at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Sept. 13.NEWS1
League-leading KT Wiz, meanwhile, beat the Doosan Bears 9-8 at home in Suwon, Gyeonggi, behind Jang Jun-won's first career multihomer game. Jang hit a three-run homer in the second inning and a two-run shot in the third for the second and third home runs of his career.
The win moved KT 3.5 games ahead of No. 2-ranked Samsung and another step closer to the regular-season title.
KT ace Ko Young-pyo held Doosan to one run on three hits over seven innings to earn his 13th win of the season against six losses.
No. 5-placed Doosan mounted a late comeback with seven runs in the top of the eighth, including back-to-back home runs by Yunior Severino and Park Ji-hoon, but fell one run short.
Samsung suffered a 13-6 rout against the Lotte Giants in Busan after giving up 10 runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Lions' third straight loss left them just two games ahead of No. 3-ranked LG.
Samsung starter Won Tae-in struggled and allowed nine runs over three and one-third innings to take his eighth loss of the season against seven wins.
In Incheon, the SSG Landers beat the Kiwoom Heroes 10-5 for their fourth consecutive victory. Choi Ji-hoon drove in five runs, including a three-run homer in the bottom of the third. Last-place Kiwoom lost its fifth straight game.
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.
