Samsung Lions catcher Kang Min-ho delivers the game-winning hit against the LG Twins in Daegu on July 9.SAMSUNG LIONS
The Samsung Lions reclaimed first place in the KBO standings by edging out the LG Twins 6-5 on Thursday at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu.
The club wrapped up the first half of the regular season with the win in a league that set a new attendance record, with more than 7.63 million fans.
Samsung had moved up with a win on Tuesday but slipped back to second after a loss the next day. The Lions finished the first half of the regular season with 51 wins, 32 losses and 2 ties, matching LG, on 52 wins and 33 losses, in gamesbut ahead on winning percentage, enough to reclaim the top spot.
GoogleAdmanager-KJD
Samsung struck first in the bottom of the first inning when Park Seung-kyu doubled and Koo Ja-wook followed with an RBI single. LG answered immediately in the second, as Oh Ji-hwan drove in two runs with a two-out single, and Park Dong-won added a sacrifice fly in the third to push the lead to 3-1.
Samsung cut the deficit with an RBI single from Choi Hyung-woo in the third, then tied it at 3-3 on Yang Woo-hyun's sacrifice fly in the fourth.
The Lions went back on top in the sixth. Kang Min-ho lined a go-ahead RBI double down the left-field line, and pinch hitter Kim Seong-yoon followed with an RBI single to make it 5-3. Kim Young-woong then hit his first home run of the season off LG starter Son Ju-young in the eighth, stretching the lead to three runs.
LG mounted a late rally in the ninth. Moon Sung-ju drew a walk after a nine-pitch battle, and Hong Chang-ki followed with a double. Park Hae-min drove in a run on an infield grounder, and back-to-back-to-back walks for Austin Dean, Song Chan-eui and Park Dong-won cut the deficit to one. But Cheon Seong-ho grounded into a game-ending double play to seal it.
Elsewhere in the league, the Kia Tigers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Lotte Giants at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan. Starter Yang Hyeon-jong picked up his sixth win of the season, allowing one run on five hits over five innings with one strikeout and one walk. Harold Castro, Kim Do-yeong and Na Sung-bum all homered, with Kim's 27th of the season pulling him even with Austin Dean atop the league's home run race at the first-half break.
Kia Tigers players celebrate after a walk-off victory over the SSG Landers at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on July 2.KIA TIGERS/YONHAP
The Doosan Bears blanked the SSG Landers 7-0 in Jamsil. Ahn Jae-seok opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the second, and Kang Seung-ho added two more two-run hits of his own. Starter Zach Logue threw five scoreless innings, allowing five hits and three walks with six strikeouts; the game was briefly halted by rain in the fourth.
The Hanwha Eagles beat the NC Dinos 6-4 in Daejeon, widening their lead over NC to 1.5 games while holding on to sixth place. Hanwha built a 4-0 lead before NC tied it at 4-4, but the Eagles pulled away in the eighth on consecutive hits by Sim Woo-jun, Oh Jae-won and Hwang Young-mook.
The KT Wiz had benefited from a rain-shortened no contest against Hanwha on June 30 after falling behind 7-0. But on Thursday, the situation was reversed.
KT led the Kiwoom Heroes 3-0 through four innings in Suwon before heavy rain forced the game to be called off — wiping out Ahn Hyun-min's fifth home run of the season, his first in 13 games.
Baseball fans cheer during a KBO League game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southeastern Seoul, on June 30.YONHAP
The Samsung-LG showdown capped a first half marked by record attendance in the league.The KBO announced Thursday that total attendance had reached 7.63 million over 424 games, surpassing last year's first-half record of7.58 million fans over 440 games by 7 percent. Average attendance also rose to 18,004 per game, up from the 17,228 posted in the first half of last season. If the current pace holds, the KBO projects that total attendance for the season will reach roughly 12.96 million.
The first half of the regular season wrapped up Thursday with another strong turnout, as 73,966 fans attended games at five ballparks across the country. The first-place showdown between Samsung and LG in Daegu drew a sellout crowd of 24,000, while the Kia-Lotte game in Busan also sold out, with 23,200 fans in attendance. Even with heavy rain across central Korea, fans kept turning out: 12,961 watched Doosan host SSG in Jamsil, and 13,805 attended Hanwha's home game against NC in Daejeon.
The league now heads into its All-Star break. The KBO All-Star Game will be held Saturday at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, with the league's 10 clubs resuming regular-season play on July 16.
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.
