After numerous swings in momentum, a home game for the SK Wyverns on Saturday tipped in their favour over the Lotte Giants, winning with a walk-off home run in the ninth inning. The win was the first of a three-game series hosted by the Wyverns at the Incheon SK Happy Dream Stadium in Incheon, South Korea.
Bringing home Choi Jeong and making the final score 8-7, Jamie Romak hit a two-run home run to take the lead from the Giants and win the game. Hitting his 13th of the season, Romak is tied for eighth in the KBO for most home runs.
The home run was a culmination of a back-and-forth game that saw both teams secure the lead at one point. The Giants took the lead early, with the Wyverns answering back in the fourth and fifth innings.
Giants Get Three Run Lead
The Giants scored runs early in the game that put them ahead. In the first inning, a hit from Lee Dae-ho put the team on the board. In the third inning, An Chi-hong drove home two more runs off of a hit.
Sampson Exits Early Due To Injury, Kicking Off Runs For Wyverns
Giants starter Adrian Sampson saw an abrupt exit from the game in the fourth inning due to injury. The pitcher experienced pain in his planted left leg while throwing a pitch to Han Dong-min.
With Noh Kyung-eun stepping in to replace Sampson, Han hit a two-run home run. An inning later, a sacrifice fly from Choi Jeong allowed another run against Noh.
Noh was replaced by Kim Yoo-young, with a hit from Chae Tae-in after that taking home two more runs. By the end of the fifth inning, the Wyverns were up 5-3.
Machado Helps Giants Come Back
The Giants mounted a comeback late in the game with Dixon Machado playing an integral part. Being involved in two scoring plays, Machado helped give the team the lead again while also getting his first home run in a long time.
First was a solo home run from Machado in the sixth inning. His fifth home run of the season, the game saw Machado break back into the statistic after last hitting a home run in mid-May. Wyverns starter Ricardo Pinto was taken out of the game after the sixth inning.
The seventh inning started with Kim Jung-bin on the mound for the Wyverns. After facing four batters, two of which were an out each, Kim was taken out of the inning. Park Min-ho took his place, and while finishing the inning, Park also gave up three runs.
After a hit from Jung Hoon scored a run, Machado got a hit into the shallow outfield to score to more runs, moving the game to a 7-5 lead favouring the Giants.
Wyverns Secure Win
In the end, a push in the late innings gave the Wyverns the win. Bringing the lead to within a run, a home run was hit by Lee Hyun-seok in the eighth inning against Koo Seung-min tied up the game.
The game-ending two-run home run hit in the ninth came against Kim Won-joong, giving the closer his first loss of the season through 24 appearances.
Giants To Play Two More In Incheon
While the Giants played against the Wyverns five times before in 2020, this series is the first where they play at the Wyverns home field in Incheon, South Korea. They will play two more games in the series, with Wednesday’s game starting at 6:30PM KST (5:30AM EDT).
Around The KBO
A sixth-inning rally from the NC Dinos scored them six runs, giving them the ability to cruise to a 6-1 win over the Kiwoom Heroes on Tuesday.
Consistent scoring throughout a game gave the Kia Tigers a blowout 10-2 win against the Hanhwa Eagles.
Needing extra innings to find a winner, a hit from Kang Jin-sung in the 10th inning earned the NC Dinos the deciding run to win 6-5 over the Samsung Lions.
Mel Rojas Jr. did what he does best on Tuesday, and that’s hitting home runs. His 24th of the season was a crucial one, as the walk-off home run gave the KT Wiz a 10-9 win against the LG Twins.
JackWannan.com 