The Lotte Giants avenged a come-from-behind loss the day before to sweep the first game of a doubleheader.
Lotte won the first game of a doubleheader against NC at Changwon NC Park on Monday, 5-2, thanks to a four-run outburst in the sixth inning by starter Park Se-woong, a tiebreaking RBI single by Jeon Jun-woo and a game-winning home run by pinch-hitter Jung Hoon.
Lotte starter Park Se-woong earned his sixth win of the season, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk while striking out nine in 6⅔ innings. Center fielder Ahn Chi-hong and Jeon Jun-woo led the offense, each combining for a multi-hit game, three RBI and two runs scored. Closer Kim Won-joong earned his 26th save of the season, giving him 1,000 career saves (sixth all-time).안전놀이터
With the batting silence, NC took a breather this week, ending a four-game winning streak at home and an eight-game home winning streak in Changwon.
Lotte-Hanwha at Daejeon’s Hanwha Life Eagles Park on the 31st. Lotte won 5-2. Jeong-hoon shares the victory with acting head coach Lee Jong-woon.
▶Park Min-woo, Oh Young-soo, Yoon Dong-hee, Gudrum gone…Jeong Hoon’s saving grace as a substitute
NC’s starting lineup was Son Asub (designated hitter), Park Min-woo (second baseman), Park Geon-woo (right fielder), Martin (center fielder), Kwon Hee-dong (left fielder), Oh Young-soo (first baseman), Seo Ho-cheol (third baseman), Kim Hyung-joon (catcher), and Kim Joo-won (shortstop).
It was noticeable that left-handed hitters Park Min-woo and Oh Young-soo, who were left out of the lineup in the aftermath of Barnes’ start the day before, returned.
Lotte’s lineup consisted of Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Lee Jeong-hoon (designated hitter), Ahn Chi-hong (second baseman), Jeon Jun-woo (left fielder), Kim Min-seok (center fielder), Noh Jin-hyuk (shortstop), Ko Seung-min (first baseman), Jung Jung-geun (catcher), and Park Seung-wook (third baseman).
Nico Gudrum, who was moved to right field the day before but went 0-for-4 with an error and a walk, was left out of the lineup. Yoon Dong-hee returned to the lineup after missing two consecutive days with a tight right thigh. Jung-hoon, who went 0-for-5 the previous day as the top hitter, was also replaced by Ko Seung-min. But there was a twist.
With the score tied at 2-2 in the top of the sixth inning, Jung-hoon was replaced by left-hander Kim Young-kyu and pinch-hit for Kim Min-seok, who pulled a 145-kilometer fastball for a game-winning two-run home run.
In the third inning of Game 1 of a doubleheader against Lotte on Sept. 9, Son reached 150 hits for the second consecutive season and 200 hits for the second time in 11 seasons. Photo courtesy of NC Dinos
▶Song Myung-ki dominates the early going, achieves ‘150 hits in 8 consecutive seasons + 200 runs in 11 consecutive seasons’ record Son As-seop
In the first inning, the momentum was in favor of the home team, NC, who had won the previous day.
They got lucky in the first inning. Two batters later, Park Gun-woo’s hit fell in front of the center fielder. Martin singled to put runners on first and second. Kwon Hee-dong, still reeling from his game-winning double in the seventh inning the day before, worked a full count and pulled a 147-kilometer fastball from Lotte starter Park Se-woong for a leadoff single to left.
Son acknowledges after reaching 150 hits for the second consecutive season and 200 hits for the second time in 11 seasons in the third inning of Game 1 of a doubleheader against Lotte on Sept. 9. Photo courtesy of NC Dinos
In the third inning, with a 1-0 lead, Son broke through.
In his second at-bat, Son, who had 149 hits and 199 RBIs the previous day, drove a three-pitch, 144-kilometer fastball from Park Se-woong into left field for his 150th hit and 200th RBI of the season.
He became the first player in KBO history to reach 150 hits in eight consecutive seasons and the second player in history to reach 200 hits in 11 consecutive seasons. After stealing second base on a video replay review, Son advanced to third on a wild pitch and came home on Jason Martin’s RBI single in the fourth inning to score the team’s second run.
After the game, Son said, “I want to thank everyone who supported and congratulated me on my record, and I think it comes naturally when you play consistently. I got a hit in the first game, but it didn’t lead to a team victory, so I won’t attach much meaning to it. I appreciate the support and I will continue to be a consistent player. Right now, I’m more focused on the team winning and getting ready for fall baseball than I am on my personal record or anything else, and I’m going to put all my energy on the field.”
In his first start in five games, NC starter Song Myung-ki used a 147-kilometer fastball, cutter, and forkball to hold Lotte to just one hit, one walk, and four strikeouts in the fifth inning to preserve a 2-0 lead.
Lotte-Hanwha game at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on July 31. Jeon Jun-woo celebrates after hitting a two-run triple with runners on second and third in the third inning.
The 2023 KBO League game between the Kiwoom Heroes and the Lotte Giants was held at the Gocheok Sky Dome on Tuesday.
▶Giants baseball promise revived in the 6th inning, hit by pitch → double → RBI single → two-run home run bang
After the cleaning time, the game changed dramatically.
The Lotte bats, which had been lethargic until the fifth inning, began to attack the day game starter, Song Myung-ki, who started to get the ball rolling with over 70 pitches.
Trailing 0-2 in the top of the sixth inning, Lee Jung-hoon drove in the second run of the inning with a single to right field. Ahn Chi-hong followed with a two-pitch, 137-kilometer high cutter that directly hit the left field fence for a two-run double. Jeon Jun-woo pulled a 132-kilometer forkball into the left field seats for a two-run double to tie the game at 2-2.
Seeing that he had run out of steam with three straight hits, the NC bench pulled Song Myung-ki and brought up left-hander Kim Young-kyu.
Lotte substituted Jeong-hoon for left-hander Kim Min-seok. With the bases loaded and one out, Jeong-hoon didn’t hesitate to pull a 145-kilometer fastball from reliever Kim Young-gyu over the left field fence. A two-run home run with a distance of 115 meters.
The Busan Seagulls echoed in the stands of the Lotte fans, who were cheering in the heat on the first base side of the field during the day game.
Riding the momentum, LOTTE took a 5-2 lead in the seventh inning when Park Seung-wook led off with a single and Ahn Chi-hong connected on a forked ball to center field after a full-count battle with Kim Si-hoon. It was a valuable hit in the clinching inning.
The 2023 KBO League game between the Lotte Giants and the KIA Tigers was held at KIA Champions Field in Gwangju on April 28. Lotte starting pitcher Park Se-woong is in relief.
▶Kim Sang-soo throws 112 pitches in Game 1 of DH without Koo Seung-min, homegrown ace reverses course
LOTTE starter Park Se-woong pitched 6⅔ innings, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk while striking out nine.
Improved to 6-7 for the season, his first win in 25 days since a victory over KT on May 15. Recorded his 13th quality start in 24 starts. Mixed his fastball up to 148 km/h with a slider-forkball curveball to keep the NC hitters off balance. His dancing changeup had the NC bats flying and he struck out nine.
The 2023 KBO League game between the NC Dinos and Lotte Giants was held at Changwon NC Park on Wednesday. Lotte’s Choi Jun-yong.
Park finished with 103 pitches through the sixth inning with a 4-2 lead.
He took the mound in the seventh inning without the key bullpen duo of Kim Sang-soo, who left the doubleheader the day before with an adductor muscle injury, and Koo Seung-min, who is still not fully healthy. After retiring Seo Ho-cheol and Kim Hyung-joon on consecutive singles, he gave way to Choi Jun-yong with two outs in the top of the seventh with a 5-2 lead. He threw 112 pitches. Fulfilled his responsibilities as an ace. The batting lineup responded to complete the comeback win.
Park said after the game, “Coach told me to face only two more batters in the seventh inning. I went up with the responsibility of doing my job as a starting pitcher. I wanted to shake off the disappointment of the last game, and I also wanted to ease the burden on the middle pitchers,” Park explained. “Being able to come back from a loss with a big inning made it a little easier for me to pitch. We gave up some runs, but we were able to get the QS because of the good defense from the fielders. Before the game, I talked to Lee and told him that I would follow him as much as possible, but I think he made a good decision and the result turned out well, so I want to thank him.”
The Lotte-Hanwha game was held at the Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park on the 31st. Kim Won-joong pitches in the ninth inning.
Choi Jun-yong, who came on after the second out of the seventh inning, pitched 1⅔ scoreless innings for his ninth shutout of the season, and Kim Won-joong, who pitched the ninth inning, secured the win for Park Se-woong and his team with a one-hit save (his 26th of the season).
Jung-hoon, who had gone hitless in the previous game against the NCs, bounced back with a 2-for-1, two-run game with a walk and a hit, including the game-winning home run.
After avenging the previous day’s disappointing loss with a come-from-behind victory, Lotte acting manager Lee Jong-woon expressed his appreciation for Park’s dedication, saying, “Despite the high pitch count, I appreciated his sacrificial spirit and attitude of thinking of the team and pitching one more inning after pitching six innings.” “Offensively, our three veterans, Ahn Chi-hong, Jeon Jun-woo, and Jeong Hoon, swept all five of our RBIs, which helped us win the game in the second half. Finally, Kim Won-joong did a great job off the bench to seal the win.”
The 2020 KBO League game between the Doosan Bears and the NC Dinos took place at Changwon NC Park on April 2. NC starting pitcher Choi Sung-young throws the ball hard.
The 2023 KBO League game between the Kiwoom Heroes and the Lotte Giants was held at the Gocheok Sky Dome on Tuesday. Lotte’s Han Hyun-hee is pitching in relief.
▶DH Game 2, Lotte makes 5 lineup changes, NC makes only 2…Choi Sung-young vs Han Hyun-hee to start
For the second game of the doubleheader, which started 30 minutes after the first, NC lined up Son Asub (designated hitter), Seo Ho-cheol (third base), Park Min-woo (second base), Martin (center field), Kwon Hee-dong (left field), Oh Young-soo (first base), Kim Joo-won (shortstop), Chun Jae-hwan (right field), and Park Dae-on (catcher).
Of the players who played full-time in Game 1, only right fielder Park Gun-woo and catcher Kim Hyung-joon were left out of the starting lineup. Catcher Park Dae-on will be paired with left-hander Choi Sung-young.