Samsung starter Jurado returns from injury in 10-4 rally over LG Twins

Ariel Jurado shook off a four-run first inning in his first start in 61 days, then held the LG Twins scoreless into the sixth as the Samsung Lions rallied for a 10-4 win Sunday to stay atop the KBO standings.

Jurado returned from a right shoulder injury for his first appearance since July 7, also against LG. His pitches drifted over the middle of the plate early, and the right-hander gave up five hits in the first inning, four of them in a row, as LG jumped to a 4-0 lead at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul.

He settled down immediately. Jurado did not allow another hit from the second through the fourth, surrendered one in the fifth and kept LG hitless for the rest of his outing. He left after walking Hong Chang-ki with two outs in the sixth, and reliever Satoshi Miyamori finished the inning without allowing a run.

Jurado allowed six hits and one walk over 5 2/3 innings. All four runs came in the first. He threw 102 pitches and topped out at 150 kilometers per hour (93 miles per hour) to earn the win and improve to 6-1.

Jurado said he could feel the adrenaline surging. He struggled in the first inning, he said, but saw it as the kind of thing that can happen in a game, and he tried to help the team as much as he could.

Samsung began its comeback in the fourth. Park Seung-kyu and Koo Ja-wook opened the inning with singles, then advanced on Choi Hyoung-woo's flyout to left. Lewin Diaz drove both runners home with a single up the middle to cut LG's lead to 4-2.

Lee Jae-hyeon drew a leadoff walk in the fifth before Kim Ji-chan dropped a bunt toward third. LG third baseman Gu Bon-hyeok fielded it and threw toward first, but no one was covering the bag. That left runners on second and third with nobody out.

After Park Seung-kyu popped out in the infield, Koo tied the game with a two-run single to right. Diaz then doubled into the left-center gap with two outs to bring home the go-ahead run.

Park Seung-kyu added a two-run single with runners on second and third and two outs in the sixth. Samsung scored twice more on consecutive bases-loaded walks to Jeon Byeong-woo and Lee Jae-hyeon in the seventh.

Samsung manager Park Jin-man came to the mound with two outs in the sixth and spoke with Jurado before allowing him to face one more batter.

Jurado said he told Park Jin-man he could face one more, though he did not get the hitter out in the end, and that the manager had been trying to pull him before he reached 100 pitches.

The slider was the pitch he was most satisfied with, Jurado said, and it was working well. He credited his fielders, particularly in the outfield.

Koo also reached a milestone in the win. His first-inning single made him the 31st player in KBO history to reach 1,800 career hits. He finished 3-for-4 and raised his league-leading batting average from 0.357 to 0.361, a full point clear of Lotte Giants outfielder Victor Reyes at 0.351.

"It was not an easy game early on, but with Jurado returning, everyone did their job and we were able to win," Koo said. "I went to the plate thinking we should chip away one run at a time. Every run mattered, so I tried to do more not only at the plate but also on the bases. I am grateful for the fans' support."

Samsung recorded its second straight comeback win over LG. The Twins lost their second in a row.

Elsewhere, the fourth-place Kia Tigers beat the KT Wiz 8-3 in Gwangju for their third straight victory and moved within half a game of third-place LG. Starter James Naile gave up nine hits but held KT to two runs to earn his 10th win of the season against six losses.

Kia infielder Kim Do-yeong went 4-for-4 with a walk but did not homer. That was his last chance to break Lee Seung-yuop's record as the youngest KBO player to reach 40 home runs in a season. Lee set the mark in 1999 at 22 years, 11 months and five days.

The Hanwha Eagles completed a three-game sweep of the Lotte Giants with an 8-2 win in Busan. Hanwha moved up to seventh and Lotte fell to ninth. Hanwha's No. 3 through No. 5 hitters Moon Hyun-bin, Kang Baek-ho and Roh Si-hwan all homered. Kang's 29th tied the career high he first set as a rookie in 2018.

In Incheon, the fifth-place Doosan Bears got at least one hit from every starter and beat the SSG Landers 16-9 to snap a five-game losing streak. Doosan moved 4.5 games ahead of the sixth-place NC Dinos, who lost 4-2 to the Kiwoom Heroes. Yang Suk-hwan homered for the first time in 161 days and finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs.

BY KIM HYO-KYOUNG [[email protected]]