Pulling off a sweep at home, the Lotte Giants finished their week of play with a 5-2 win over the KT Wiz. The game, which happened at the Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, Korea, saw early runs give the Giants a lead they could hang onto.
Early Runs Put Giants Ahead
The Wiz got a quick jump on the Giants in the first after Kim Min-hyeok sent a solo shot past the wall in the outfield.
The Giants answered back strongly, with hits from An Chi-hong, Oh Yoon-suk and Dixon Machado bringing in a run each to make the game 3-1 later in the inning.
After a rough first inning for both starting pitchers, they had better following innings, as no more runs came until the fifth.
In the fifth, Lee Dae-ho scored a double, bringing home another run to make the game 4-1. After Sunday, Lee moved his 2020 RBI tally to 21, which currently leads the ball club.
Park Gets First Win, Ending Streak
Wiz starter Odrisaimer Despaigne was pulled after the fifth inning of play. Allowing four runs and seven hits, Despaigne got four strikeouts as well. Being given the loss for the game, Despaigne moved to 2-2 this season.
The game was Despaigne’s second game against the Giants, putting on a strong six-inning performance against the team on the 2020 opening day game.
In his sixth start of the season, Giants pitcher Park Se-woong got his first win of the year after allowing only three hits and one run over six innings. The game broke his four-game string of losses.
A successful ninth inning appearance from Kim Won-joong gave him his fifth save of the season.
Late Runs For Both Clubs
The teams traded runs in the eighth inning. A hit from Kim Min-hyeok gave him his second RBI of the game, driving home a runner. Reliever Park Jin-hyung was brought in late in the inning to get the Wiz out of the jam.
A hit from Kim Joon-tae gave the Giants their three-run lead back, as he drove home a runner against Jeon Yoo-soo, making the game 5-2.
Jeon was taken out after the play, seemingly feeling pain in his right arm.
Sweep Sees Giants Jump In Rankings
Sweeping the series, the Giants now move to 6-0 overall this season against the Wiz. Starting the series, the Giants were tied for seventh place in the KBO with the Wiz. Now, the Giants sit sixth, with the Wiz in eighth.
The Giants will stay at home for their next series, hosting the Hanhwa Eagles. The team has went 1-2 against the Eagles, playing one series against them in the season so far. Later in the week, the Giants will travel to Seoul, Korea for a series against the LG Twins, facing them for the first time this season.
The Wiz will host a three-game series against the Kia Tigers starting on Tuesday. After that, the team will play against the Samsung Lions.
First pitch for all Tuesday games is set for 6:30PM KST (5:30AM EDT).
Around The KBO
Bouncing back from three losses, the Samsung Lions got a 3-0 win over the SK Wyverns. A strong starting performance from Lions pitcher David Buchanan saw him limit the Wyverns to four hits over six innings.
Sweeping the series with ease, the NC Dinos picked up an 8-2 win over the Hanhwa Eagles.
A late run from the LG Twins put them ahead 8-1 over the Kiwoom Heroes, bringing them back from their two previous losses.
A close 3-2 win gave the Doosan Bears a victory against the Kia Tigers. Four games behind the leading Dinos, the Bears stayed high in the rankings after a strong 5-1 week of play.
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