An all-but concluded game went to the SK Wyverns 7-4 over the Lotte Giants on Friday, with rain calling a stop to the competition with one out in the bottom of the ninth. The win was the first for the Wyverns over the Giants this season, coming from the Giants home field, the Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, South Korea.
The win saw the Wyverns earn five runs over Giants starter Adrian Sampson, building on their lead later with runs over relievers.
Teams Exchange Runs In The First
Scoring kicked off in the third inning with a hit from Wyverns player Choi Jeong bringing in a run. He was driven home by Chae Tae-in later in the inning to bring the lead to two.
The Giants tied the game up later in the inning with their own series of hits. With bases loaded, a ground ball hit by Dixon Machado allowed Son Ah-seop to reach home. A hit from Kim Joon-tae scored a second run later on.
Starters Get Win and Loss As Game Is Decided After Five
The home team scored a third run in the fourth inning, as Jeon Jun-woo scored a run.
An explosive fifth inning shifted the lead back to the Wyverns. Home runs from both Jeong and Jamie Romak were hit, bringing the lead to 5-3.
While Giants starter Adrian Sampson finished the fifth inning, he was taken out of play afterwards. Being given his fifth loss of the season, Sampson’s record is now 2-5.
After allowing two runners to get on base in the sixth inning, Wyverns starter Ricardo Pinto was taken out of play. His performance was enough to give him a win, making his 2020 record a now even 4-4.
Late Insurance Runs For Wyverns
In the sixth inning, a sacrifice fly from Jeon Jun-woo took Han Dong-hee home, scoring in a close play that the Wyverns challenged for review.
Heavy rain started to come down as the Wyverns put down their last two runs of the game. In the seventh, a hit from Lee Hyun-seok drove home two runs, making the game 7-4. The hit came against Oh Hyun-taek, who faced six batters in the inning.
The rain stopped for a short period of time, picking up dramatically again in the ninth, eventually causing the game to be delayed and stopped.
Giants and Wyverns Now Neighbour Eachother On Rankings
The game was the first time the Wyverns beat the Giants, as the first meeting between the teams saw the Giants win both games they played. The teams will play two more games this week. Saturday’s game is set to happen at 6:00PM KST (5:00AM EDT).
The Giants have dropped to eighth in the KBO recently with a 23-26 record. The Wyverns sit in ninth, however, they cannot overtake the Giants soon, being nine-games behind them with a 15-36 record.
Around The KBO
The Kia Tigers won 8-2 over the NC Dinos in Changwon, South Korea. A strong pitching performance from Drew Gagnon held off the Dinos until the seventh inning. The Tigers are the only team the first-place Dinos have failed to win against this season.
A walk-off home run from Park Se-hyuk gave the Doosan Bears a 2-1 win over the Hanhwa Eagles.
A 9-7 lead for the Samsung Lions against the LG Twins was declared final in the eighth inning after rain stopped play in Daegu, South Korea. The Lions started hot with a five-run rally in the first inning.
A game went to the KT Wiz after a ninth-inning hit from Hwang Jae-gyun brought in the deciding run in Kang Baek-ho to give the team a 3-2 win over the Kiwoom Heroes.
JackWannan.com 