No. 4 NC wins 8-4 over LG
The Doosan Bears moved closer to qualifying for the postseason with a win over the KIA Tigers.
Doosan won 3-1 at home against KIA in the 2023 Shinhan Bank Solar KBO League at Jamsil Stadium on Wednesday.
Riding a two-game winning streak, fifth-ranked Doosan (73 wins, two ties, 65 points) extended its lead over sixth-ranked KIA (71 wins, two ties, 69 points) to three games and moved closer to qualifying for the fall baseball season. Doosan needs just one more win in its remaining four games to punch its postseason ticket.
Kia found itself in the unenviable position of having to hope for a Doosan loss after winning both of its remaining games.
Doosan’s Gwak-bin Kwak, who made his first start in 25 days, got the win. He pitched six innings of two-hit ball, striking out nine and walking one to pick up his 12th win of the season.
At the plate, Jose Rojas went 1-for-2 with a double, two RBIs and a walk, while Soo-Bin Jung (4-for-4, 2 RBIs, 1 run scored) had a multi-hit performance.
KIA went all out, using six pitchers, but the bats hung their heads as the offense was held to just three hits.
Doosan took the early lead.
In the bottom of the third inning, Heo Kyung-min drew a walk and Jung Soo-bin singled up the middle to put runners on first and second. Jose Rojas followed with a double down the right-field line to bring home two runs.
KIA quickly broke the silence.
In the top of the fourth, Kim Sun-bin and Socrates combined for a single and a throwing error by starter Kwak Bin to put runners on first and third with no outs, and Lee Woo-sung hit a ball to the center field fence for a sacrifice fly.
After his scoreless streak was broken, Doosan starter Kwak Bin ended the fifth and sixth innings with a triple play to preserve his team’s lead.
KIA had a chance in the top of the eighth when Kim Do-young led off with a double down the left field line. However, Ko Jong-wook and Kim Sun-bin struck out on consecutive grounders.
In the top of the ninth, Doosan brought in Kim Kang-ryul to close out the game. Kim struck out three batters to earn his first save of the season (1-7).
SSG Landers won 3-2 against the Kiwoom Heroes of the 2023 Shinhan Bank Solar KBO League at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on April 13.
Tied 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, SSG loaded the bases with two outs on a walk by Park Sung-hwan, a sacrifice bunt by Oh Tae-gon, a high fly ball by Choi Joo-hwan and a ball hit to the body by Ha Jae-hoon.
The next batter, Choo Shin-soo, hit an infield grounder, and Kiwoom first baseman Lim Ji-yeol caught and missed the throw to keep the runner at first base. In the meantime, third baseman Park Sung-ho came home to end the game.
With the three-game winning streak, SSG remained in sole possession of third place with 74 points (3 draws and 64 losses).
Kiwoom, who lost their final game of the regular season, finished the season with 58 wins, three draws and 83 losses.
It was Kiwoom who took the early lead.
In the top of the first inning, back-to-back singles by Kim Hye-seong and Ronnie Dawson and a walk to Lee Ju-hyung loaded the bases, and Kim Hwi-jip hit a sacrifice fly. Song Sung-moon singled, but no runs were scored.
After Oh Won-seok got out of the jam with minimal damage, the SSG bats quickly tied the game.
In the bottom of the inning, Choo Shin-soo walked and Han Yoo-seom singled to put runners on first and third, and Guillermo Heredia followed with a single to right.
SSG answered back in the second inning. Leadoff hitter Choi Ju-hwan hit a solo home run (his 20th of the season) over the right field fence.
After the comeback, Oh Won-seok continued to pitch well without giving up any more runs. He got out of a bases-loaded jam in the third inning with a strikeout and a groundout, and in the fifth, he was hit by Dawson with runners on first and second, but Kim Jae-hyun was thrown out at second base to end the inning without allowing a run.
SSG tied the game in the ninth after Noh Kyung-eun and Ko Hyo-joon pitched 1⅓ and ⅔ scoreless innings, respectively, to preserve the lead. One out later, reliever Seo Jin-yong dedicated a solo home run to left field (his eighth of the season) to Kim Hwijip.
However, with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, SSG capitalized on their opponent’s errors to secure the win.
SSG starter Oh Won-seok pitched six innings with five hits, two walks, four strikeouts and one run, but allowed the tying run to score in the ninth.
Seo Jin-yong, who hit the tying solo shot, earned the win. It was his fifth win of the season (4-4, 41 saves).
Kiwoom Moon Sung-hyun, who came on in the bottom of the ninth and was shaky with two strikeouts and one run in ⅔ innings, suffered his second loss of the season (2-2).
At Changwon NC Park, the NC Dinos defeated the LG Twins 8-4.
Fourth-place NC has 74 wins, two ties, and 65 losses, maintaining a 0.5-game lead over third-place SSG. LG, which has already clinched first place in the regular season, improved to 85 wins, two ties, and 55 losses.
NC starter Tanner Tully picked up his fifth win of the season (2-0) with six innings of three-hit ball, one run (one home run), one strikeout and two walks.
The NC offense pounded out 11 hits, long and short. Kim Sung-wook went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs, while Kim Joo-won was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.
LG starter Lee Ji-gang was tagged for eight runs (five earned) on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings, dropping to 5-2 on the season.
NC scored five runs in the first inning to take control.
In the bottom of the first, Son Asub and Park Minwoo walked to put runners on first and second, and Jason Martin followed with a single to right. The next batter, Oh Young-soo, grounded out to second base, allowing Park to score from third.
With runners on first and third after an error, Kim Sung-wook doubled to left and Kim Hyung-joon singled to right.
In the bottom of the third inning, Kim Joo-won singled to right and Kim Sung-wook doubled to center to score a run, and in the fourth inning, after Park Joo-chan singled and Choi Jung-won doubled, Park Min-woo hit a two-RBI single to center to put runners on second and third for an 8-0 lead.
LG, which got a run back in the top of the fifth on Kim Min-sung’s solo shot to left (his eighth of the season), pulled within three runs in the ninth after back-to-back singles by Austin Dean and Son Ho-young and a walk to Jung Joo-hyun loaded the bases, but could get no closer. 스포츠토토링크
