LG laughed at SSG and LG’s Incheon weekday three-game series, which drew attention as a confrontation between teams tied for first place. After achieving the winning series, he left Incheon with a solo 1st place.
On the 25th,메이저놀이터 LG won 8-3 by tying up the power of starter Casey Kelly and the team’s batting line that exploded in the early game in the match against SSG of the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 25th. LG (28 wins, 15 losses, 1 draw) overtook SSG and rose to the sole lead again. On the other hand, SSG (27 wins, 16 losses, 1 draw), which did not continue its winning streak, did not drop to second place.
LG starter Casey Kelly achieved a quality start with 5 hits (2 homers), 4 strikeouts and 3 runs (2 earned runs) in 6 innings and achieved his 5th win of the season. Personally, he found his pace with good pitching in four consecutive quality starts. The bullpen, which came up from the 7th inning, also kept a good 3-point lead. Ham Deok-joo was responsible for the 7th episode, Kim Jin-seong for the 8th episode, and Park Myung-geun for the 9th episode.
In the other lineup, leadoff Hong Chang-ki made an outstanding performance by hitting 4 hits for the 7th time in his personal career, and 2nd time Mun Seong-joo supported him with 2 hits, 1 walk and 1 RBI. Park Dong-won, the league leader in home runs, led the team with a 3-run home run in the first inning and a solo home run in the 8th inning, making an outstanding performance with 3 hits (2 home runs) and 4 RBIs.
On the other hand, SSG’s starter Song Young-jin collapsed with 6 hits (1 home run), 3 walks and 6 runs in 2 innings, giving up the lead too early. The second pitcher, Baek Seung-geon, struggled through 3 scoreless innings, but there was no response from the other line. In the other line, Hanyu Island hit a home run, but it had nothing to do with the team’s victory.
▲ Song Young-jin, who pitched the worst since his debut with 6 runs in 2 innings ⓒSSG Landers
▲ Hanyu Island, which recorded the two-run four of the chase ⓒSSG Landers
LG scored 5 points from the first inning and completely dominated the game. In the first inning, LG led Hong Chang-ki with a double that landed in front of the left fielder. Left fielder Heredia tried to catch it with a sliding catch, but the ball rather flowed backwards. Then, Moon Seong-joo and Kim Hyeon-soo did not miss Song Young-jin’s swinging ball, and calmly chose a series of walks to make the bases loaded safely.
Austin retreated with a floating ball from second baseman, but Oh Ji-hwan hit a timely hit to the left and scored the first run. Moon Bo-gyeong added a point with a sacrifice fly to center fielder, and Park Dong-won hit a 3-run homer against Song Young-jin to make it 5-0.
An additional point was added in the second inning. Leader Shin Min-jae’s missed ball flowed on an exquisite course and became an infield hit in front of the pitcher, and advanced to second base with a balk. LG made first and third bases with Hong Chang-gi’s left-handed hit, and Mun Seong-joo hit a timely hit and ran away 6-0.
▲ Hong Chang-ki, who made an outstanding performance in the lead-off spot ⓒYonhap News
SSG launched a counterattack twice. After one out, Park Seong-han hit right handedly, followed by Hanyu-seom’s two-run gun that crossed the right-middle fence to make up for the two points. Then, Jeon Eui-san’s right-middle hit, and Choo Shin-soo’s walk after two shots, made up one more point with the opponent’s throw error when Choi Ji-hoon grounded to second base on the first and second bases.
While SSG bullpen pitchers caught LG’s footsteps, SSG fell behind 3-6, with two outs in the 4th inning, Cho Hyung-woo hit a triple that hit the left fence, but Choo Shin-soo stopped at second baseman and lost the chance to pursue. In the 5th inning, lead Choi Ji-hoon went on base due to an error by the first baseman, followed by Choi Jeong-gi’s back with a left-handed hit to secure a chance to secure first and second base, but the follow-up hit failed and the base was stolen, ending with no points.
After taking a breather, in the 8th inning with a 6-3 lead, Park Dong-Won, who led the team, hit a solo home run against Park Dong-Won, who was recording two scoreless innings, and entered the stable zone. Then, Park Hae-min’s right-handed hit and Shin Min-jae’s sacrifice bunt created a scoring opportunity, and Hong Chang-ki hit a timely hit in the middle left again, running away to 8-3 and consolidating the victory.
SSG could not pursue it to the end. In the ninth inning, Kang Jin-seong, who joined the team through a trade with Doosan that day, appeared as a pinch hitter, but it was only a ground ball to second base. Ha Jae-hoon’s double hit, which came back from injury, was a bit of consolation.