LG reduced the magic number to win the regular season to ‘1’.
LG won 5-4 in the 2023 KBO League game against KT held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 2nd. Veteran Kim Jin-seong overcame the crisis of bases loaded with one out ahead of the team 5-4 and pitched two multi-inning innings to become the winning pitcher. 메이저놀이터
LG won against KT that day and reduced the magic number by two at once. NC, ranked 3rd, lost again to Hanwha on this day, and the magic number became ‘1’. LG has a rest day with no games on the 3rd. If KT and NC lose on the 3rd, LG is confirmed to win. On the 3rd, KT will play against KIA, and NC will face SSG.
Kang Hyo-jong, who served as a temporary starter, recorded 4 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, and 2 runs in 3⅔ innings. Lee Woo-chan (⅓ inning), Park Myung-geun (1 inning), Choi Dong-hwan (1 inning), Baek Seung-hyeon (1 inning), Kim Dae-hyun (0 inning), and Kim Jin-seong (2 inning) pitched in succession.
In the 3rd inning, Park Hae-min had 2 hits, 1 RBI, and 2 runs, including the go-ahead hit, and Kim Hyun-soo had 2 RBIs. Seongju Moon and Juhyun Jeong recorded two hits each.
KT’s starting pitchers on this day were Cho Yong-ho (designated hitter), Hwang Jae-gyun (third baseman), Alford (left fielder), Park Byeong-ho (first baseman), Bae Jeong-dae (center fielder), Jang Seong-woo (catcher), Lee Ho-yeon (second baseman), Kim Sang-soo (shortstop), and Ahn Chi-young (right fielder). Selection is sovereign.
KT, which has to play a 9-game series, suffered from injuries. Coach Lee Kang-cheol said ahead of the game against LG, “Benjamin is not in good shape, so he won’t be able to pitch tomorrow either. “There are no starters for the two double headers against KIA and the game against Samsung on the 6th,” he sighed.
Benjamin also has symptoms of phlegm on his back due to overall fatigue. Coach Lee said, “Benjamin threw a lot this year. “He probably threw the most he’s ever thrown in his life.” Benjamin has 15 wins, 6 losses, and an average ERA of 3.59 in 28 games this season. He pitched 158 innings.
Recently, he made several appearances on the mound after four days of rest. Benjamin pitched twice in a row against SSG on September 12th, against Hanwha on the 17th, and against KIA on the 22nd after resting for 4 days.
LG started with Hong Chang-ki (right fielder), Park Hae-min (center fielder), Kim Hyun-soo (designated hitter), Austin (first baseman), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Moon Seong-ju (left fielder), Jeong Ju-hyeon (third baseman), Heo Do-hwan (catcher), and Shin Min-jae (second baseman). The starting pitcher is Kang Hyo-jong. Park Dong-won was left out as catcher, and Heo Do-hwan started.
Coach Yeom Kyeong-yeop said before the game, “Dong-won Park has a bad left wrist, so he will have a complete rest today. He will get better after two days of rest until tomorrow.” Prospective slugger Lee Jae-won was moved down to the second team. Coach Yeom said, “His batting pace is not good. I sent him down for more training. If I want to use him in the Korean Series, I need to improve his batting feel.”
LG created a chance in the bottom of the batting order in the 3rd inning. No. 7 Jeong Joo-hyun reached base with a base hit, and Heo Do-hwan’s sacrifice bunt put him on second base with one out. Number 9 Shin Min-jae took a walk and reached first and second base.
Hong Chang-gi retired with a strikeout, but Park Hae-min hit a timely hit to left to score the first run. First base runner Shin Min-jae ran to third base, and when the third base throw went to left fielder, third baseman, and shortstop, the batter runner advanced to second base. With 2 outs and 2nd and 3rd bases, Kim Hyun-soo hit a timely hit in front of right field, scoring 2 RBIs, and LG ran away with a 3-0 lead.
LG created a chance in the bottom of the batting order in the 3rd inning. No. 7 Jeong Joo-hyun reached base with a base hit, and Heo Do-hwan’s sacrifice bunt put him on second base with one out. Number 9 Shin Min-jae took a walk and reached first and second base.
Hong Chang-gi retired with a strikeout, but Park Hae-min hit a timely hit to left to score the first run. First base runner Shin Min-jae ran to third base, and when the third base throw went to left fielder, third baseman, and shortstop, the batter runner advanced to second base. With 2 outs and 2nd and 3rd bases, Kim Hyun-soo hit a timely hit in front of right field, scoring 2 RBIs, and LG ran away with a 3-0 lead.
LG created a chance in the bottom of the batting order in the 3rd inning. No. 7 Jeong Joo-hyun reached base with a base hit, and Heo Do-hwan’s sacrifice bunt put him on second base with one out. Number 9 Shin Min-jae took a walk and reached first and second base.
Hong Chang-gi retired with a strikeout, but Park Hae-min hit a timely hit to left to score the first run. First base runner Shin Min-jae ran to third base, and when the third base throw went to left fielder, third baseman, and shortstop, the batter runner advanced to second base. With 2 outs and 2nd and 3rd bases, Kim Hyun-soo hit a timely hit in front of right field, scoring 2 RBIs, and LG ran away with a 3-0 lead.
KT’s leadoff hitter Park Byeong-ho reached base in the second inning due to a catching error by the third baseman. Bae Jeong-dae retired with a three-pitch strikeout, and Jang Seong-woo hit a hit to right, creating a chance for runners on first and second base with one out.
However, the ball hit by Ho-Hyun Lee was a ground ball to first baseman, and runner Byeong-ho Park, who was on third base, came home and returned to third base. Ho-yeon Lee is tagged out at first base. With 2 outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd base, Kim Sang-soo’s hit was a grounder to the shortstop and he missed the opportunity to score first.
KT chased down 0-2 in the third inning. After one out, Cho Yong-ho reached base with a heavy hit. Hwang Jae-gyun’s ground ball to shortstop resulted in two outs and second base. Alford hit a slider on the third pitch against Kang Hyo-jong with one ball and one strike and hit a two-run home run that went over the left wall. 16th home run of the season. The moment it was hit, it was such a big ball (distance 130m) that the left fielder did not look at the ball and follow it.
Trailing 3-2, Byung-ho Park got on base with a straight walk. Bae Jeong-dae hit a single to left, creating a scoring opportunity with 2 outs and runners on first and second base. Jang Seong-woo retired with a ground ball to shortstop and failed to tie the game.
LG’s addition. Wild pitch – wild pitch – lucky score
LG scored an additional point against pitcher Ha Jun-ho, who was replaced in the 5th inning. After one out, Hong Chang-gi took a straight walk and got on base. Park Hae-min also walked and reached first and second base. Hyunsoo Kim got 2 outs with a fly ball to left field.
Ha Jun-ho’s first pitch at Austin’s plate turned into a wild pitch. Runners advanced to second and third base. Then, KT sent Austin out on an automatic 4th pitch and launched a bases-loaded strategy. With bases loaded and two outs, against Oh Ji-hwan, Ha Jun-ho threw another wild pitch on the first pitch that fell behind the catcher. The runner on third base scores. LG widened the score gap to 4-2.
KT replaced pitcher Ha Jun-ho with Kim Young-hyun. Oh Ji-hwan walked and the bases were loaded with two outs, but Moon Seong-ju retired with a fly ball to right field.
LG added one point in the 7th inning. After one out, Park Hae-min created a scoring opportunity with a double. Kim Hyun-soo took a walk and reached first and second base.
Then, KT replaced the pitcher from Kim Young-hyun to Jo Yi-hyeon. Austin retired due to a catcher’s foul fly out. Oh Ji-hwan hit a double, scored the runner on second base, and ran away with the score, 5-2.
KT chases by one point, but hits a double play with bases loaded and 1 out
In the 6th inning, KT’s leadoff hitter Jang Seong-woo reached base with an infield hit on the third base line against pitcher Choi Dong-hwan, who was replaced. However, Lee Ho-yeon’s batted ball was caught by the first baseman, resulting in a double play involving the first baseman, shortstop, and first baseman.
After two outs, Kim Sang-soo created another chance with a double that crossed the third base line. Ahn Chi-young’s batted ball failed to take advantage of the ground ball in front of the pitcher and the chase opportunity.
KT’s leadoff hitter Cho Yong-ho reached base against Baek Seung-hyun in the 7th inning with a heavy hit. Hwang Jae-gyun’s ground ball to third base puts the leading runner out at second base. It became 1 out and 1 base. Alford hit a double, leading to a chance for 2nd and 3rd bases with one out.
Park Byung-ho struck out on a 148km fastball with a full count and a missed swing. Bae Jeong-dae’s well-hit ball flew straight in front of the left fielder and was out. I missed a good scoring opportunity.
Daehyun Kim came into the LG bullpen in the 8th inning. For KT, Seong-Woo Jang took a walk and got on base. Then, pinch hitter Moon Sang-cheol hit a single to left, creating a chance to reach first and second base with no outs. Kim Sang-soo hit a double to Jwaseon-sang, scored one RBI, and chased the score to 5-3. Kim Sang-soo’s personal record of 600 RBIs.
With no outs on second and third base, LG promoted Kim Jin-seong as a relief pitcher. Ahn Chi-young was out due to a catcher foul fly. Cho Yong-ho drew a walk and the bases were loaded with one out. Hwang Jae-gyun walked on a full count and pushed the score to 5-4.
With the score at least tied, the mood for a comeback heated up. However, the ball that Alford hit from the second ball became a ground ball in front of the third baseman and a double play that led to the third baseman, second baseman, and first baseman. At 5-4, they could no longer chase and missed a golden opportunity.
Kim Jin-seong also appeared on the mound in the 9th inning with the team leading by one run, 5-4, and went on to pitch multiple innings. The game ended with Park Byeong-ho getting a foul fly out to third baseman, Bae Jeong-dae hitting left fielder with a fly ball, and pinch hitter Kim Jun-tae striking out three pitches.