The Kiwoom Heroes put together a strong highlight reel against a wide array of Lotte Giants pitchers on Saturday, winning 12-4 in the end. Numerous home runs, two of them from Park Byung-ho, were just some of the big plays made to earn the large lead.
Winning the first game of the series, the Giants are now tied in their home series at the Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, Korea.
Relievers pitched the entire game for the Giants throughout, with seven pitchers in total playing in the game. The pitching rotation lost a player earlier in the week after Lee Seung-heon was pulled from a game due to a head injury.
Heroes starter Eric Jokisch was given the win for the game, pitching six innings, allowing two runs and six hits. Jokisch has now won his last three appearances, tying himself with four other pitchers for most wins in the season so far.
Heroes Mount Early Lead
The Heroes scored in the first inning, with Lee Jung-hoo batting in Kim Ha-seong. The run came against Lee In-bok, who was taken out after the first inning. He was given the loss for the game.
With Choi Young-hwan on the mound, Heroes right fielder Kim Gyu-min was able to score Lee Ji-young.
Troubles for Young-hwan continued in the third inning, giving up two solo home runs, coming from Kim Ha-seong and Park Byung-ho respectively.
Giants Get On The Board
The Giants finally scored in the fourth inning, with a hit from Kim Dong-han bringing in Han Dong-hee.
Another run came an inning later, as a hit from Jeon Jun-woo took Dixon Machado in from third base. This made the score 4-2, still in favour of the Heroes.
Heroes Pile Onto Lead
Hits continued for the Heroes in the sixth, rallying three runs in the inning. Bringing in one run each, hits from Lee Taek-keun, Kim Joo-hyung and Seo Keon-chang helped extend the lead.
The Heroes had a late run in the eighth inning, bringing in five runs against pitcher Kang Dong-ho. It started with a hit from Kim Ha-seong, bringing in one run. Later, a home run from Lee Jung-hoo added three more runs to the score. The next batter, Park Byung-ho got his second home run of the game. Leaving the inning, the Heroes had a 10-run lead.
Two runs came late for the Giants, although in the grand scheme of the game they were insignificant. In the eighth inning, a sacrifice fly saw Kang Lo-han score. In the ninth, Jung Bo-geun was able to score after a throw went over a second baseman and into left field.
Tied With A Game To Go
The Heroes are currently tied for fourth in the KBO with the Kia Tigers, who hold an identical record of 10-7. The Giants sit below, in sixth place with an 8-8 record.
Now tied with a win each in the series, the Giants and Heroes will meet again on Sunday with a start time of 2:00PM KST (1:00AM EDT).
Around The KBO
Bouncing back from an upset loss in the first game of the series, the NC Dinos took a 3-0 win over the Hanhwa Eagles. Starting Dinos pitcher Drew Rucinski went eight innings, allowing four hits.
Taking their second game in the series, the Doosan Bears defeated the Samsung Lions 10-6. Bad news broke about the Lions on Saturday, with reports saying one of their starting pitchers, Ben Lively, will be out for weeks due to injury.
Tying up their series, the KT Wiz earned a 6-2 win over the LG Twins.
An 8-3 win for the Kia Tigers over the SK Wyverns was a tale of two teams. The Tigers are seemingly on the upswing, looking to go 6-0 in the week with a win tomorrow. The Wyverns are 2-14 in the season, 2.5 games behind second-last in the standings.
JackWannan.com 