The Lotte Giants won a low scoring game against the Hanhwa Eagles on Saturday afternoon with a final score of 5-1. The win, which came at the Hanhwa Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, Korea, tied the series up at one game for each team.
Both Teams Bring One Home
The Giants got up by one run in the second when a hit from Kim Joon-tae took Dixon Machado home. Not starting most games, Joon-tae earned his first hit and RBI in the 2020 season in this play.
Answering back in the third, Eagles player Jung Eun-won was able to score while Giants defence caught a runner stuck between first and second base.
Giants starter Noh Kyung-eun earned his first win of the season, being pulled after six innings, allowing eight hits and one run.
Appearances from five relievers from the Giants bullpen helped limit the Eagles to two hits over three innings.
Giants Take Lead
Giants regained the lead in the fifth with Lee Dae-ho driving Son Ah-seop home to make the game 2-1.
Warwick Staupold, who is in his second season with the Eagles, finished the game after the seventh inning, allowing two runs and eight hits, giving him the loss for the game.
Staupold had a strong opening day start, pitching a nine-inning shutout against the SK Wyverns.
Insurance Runs For Giants
The lead was extended past what was needed in the later innings of the game. Against Kim Jin-young, Han Dong-hee was able to bring An Chi-hong into home plate.
Two more runs came in the ninth inning. First, a hit from Jeon Jun-woo allowed Min Byung-hun to score.
Heo Il was in the Giants starting lineup for the first time this season, playing right field and going one for five in the evening. Another run came later, where Jeon Jun-woo was allowed home off of an error where Eagles third baseman Oh Sun-jin got in his way.
Tied In Standings, Tied In Series
After this game, both teams see themselves tied with fellow KBO teams. Competing for second, the Giants are tied with the LG Twins with a record of 7-3 each. Lower on the standings, Eagles are tied with the Samsung Lions for seventh, both holding a 4-7 record.
The Giants and Eagles are tied 1-1 going into their final game in the series. The game is set to kick off at 2:00PM KST (1:00AM EDT) on Sunday.
Around The KBO
After Kim Tae-hoon kept the NC Dinos to only two hits in seven innings, reliever Kim Ju-on gave up the deciding two runs to make the SK Wyverns drop 2-1.
Getting up by seven runs before their opponent scored, the Kia Tigers had a pretty relaxed 13-4 win on Saturday against the Doosan Bears.
A quick start from the KT Wiz allowed them to get a 10-4 victory over the Samsung Lions. They look for a sweep of the series tomorrow.
Making up for the rained out game on Friday, the LG Twins picked up a 3-1 and 5-3 win against the Kiwoom Heroes.
JackWannan.com 