The LG Twins used a big day from Hong Chang-ki to defeat the SSG Landers and solidify their hold on first place.
LG pounded out 15 hits in a 10-4 home win over SSG in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League on Saturday at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.
With the win, the only one of the five venues to play, LG extended its lead to six games over second-place KT Wiz, which did not play.안전놀이터
LG has 23 games left in the regular season, while KT has 20 games remaining.
Meanwhile, SSG, which lost its third straight game, lost the fourth spot to the KIA Tigers and moved into a tie for fifth place with the Doosan Bears.
Hong Chang-ki led off the first inning with a single to left field.
He promptly stole second base, his 20th stolen base of the season, and then slid home on back-to-back infield grounders by Shin Min-jae and Kim Hyun-soo to take the lead.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, with the score at 1-0, Shin drove in a valuable run with a double to right field and came home on a single by Kim Hyun-soo to make it 3-0.
Cruising, LG tied the game in the top of the sixth inning when starter Casey Kelly suddenly faltered, giving up an RBI single to Guillermo Heredia and an RBI double to Choi Ju-hwan, before reliever Kim Jin-sung gave up another RBI single to Park Sung-hwan to cut the deficit to 3-4.
Hong would come through again to tie the game.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, with the bases loaded, Hong hit a double off SSG’s second pitcher, Ko Hyo-joon.
He came home on a single by Shin Min-jae to score his third run of the game.
LG scored three runs in the seventh inning on back-to-back RBI singles by Moon Bo-kyung, Park Dong-won, and Moon Sung-joo to seal the win.
Hong went 3-for-5 on the day, raising his batting average from 0.337 to 0.340 to overtake Son Ah-seop (NC Dinos-0.339) as the league’s top hitter.
He also scored his 99th run of the season, pushing Kim Hye-sung (Kiwoom Heroes – 97) back into the top spot in the league.
LG’s Park Hae-min stole second base in the fifth inning to become the second player in KBO history to reach 20 stolen bases in 10 consecutive seasons.
The previous leader in this category was Jung Geun-woo with 11 seasons from 2006 to 2016.
Games scheduled to be played in Gwangju, Daejeon, Busan, and Changwon were all canceled due to rain.
Doosan-KIA in Gwangju and KT-Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon have been rescheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 18, while Kiwoom-Lotte Giants in Busan will be played at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 19.
The Samsung Lions-NC game in Changwon will be rescheduled for a later date.