The Lotte Giants opened their series against the Kiwoom Heroes on Friday with a win, scoring runs against starter Yang Hyun to win the game 5-1. The win was the third in the week for the Giants, who continued their home stretch at the Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, South Korea.
The win was a quick bounce back from their Thursday loss to the NC Dinos which ended a previous six-game winning streak. A strong defensive perfromance from the Giants prevented the Heroes from scoring more than a run, meaning that early runs from the Giants were enough to secure a victory.
Giants Score, Taking Yang Out of Game
The Giants scored their first runs in the third inning over starter Yang Hyun. After hits from Son Ah-seop and Jeon Jun-woo both drove home a run, Yang was pulled from the game by the Heroes.
Despite playing a short 41-pitch appearance, Yang was given the loss for the game. Being the reliever’s first time as a starter this year, Yang’s 2020 record moved to 6-3.
Before the inning ended, Giants player Han Dong-hee batted home a third run against reliever Kim Jae-woong.
Two more runs came in the fifth innings for the Giants, as a hit from Dixon Machado and a sacrifice fly from Min Byung-hun scored runs. The runs came against reliever Kim Sung-min, who has an 11.57 ERA through 10 appearances in 2020.
Heroes Get One on Park, Park Gets Win
The Heroes were able to score one run in the game, earning it against starter Park Se-woong in the sixth inning. A hit from Lee Jung-hoo scored a run, taking Seo Keong-chang around from second base. Park was pulled from the game, with his five-and-one-third innings of work earning him his sixth win of the season.
Giants In Fragile Spot
The Giants sit sixth in the KBO currently with a 40-36-1 record. A singular win or loss could potentially move them in the standings currently. Below them is the 41-37-1 KT Wiz, with the Kia Tigers above them with a 42-37 record.
The Heroes will play two more games against the Giants this week, with Saturday’s game set for 5:00PM KST (4:00AM EDT).
Around The KBO
A dominating performance from the Samsung Lions saw them win 10-1 against the Hanhwa Eagles.
Being down by three runs, the Kia Tigers had a rally in the bottom of the ninth to battle back versus the SK Wvyerns. A walk-off three-run home run from Na Ji-wan gave the Tigers the game, winning 7-6.
The LG Twins defeated the top-ranked NC Dinos, having rallies of runs against pitchers Mike Wright, Moon Kyung-chan and Kim Jin-sung to win 10-4.
Needing extra innings to find a winner, a deciding run driven in by Bae Jeong-dae earned the KT Wiz a 5-3 win against the Doosan Bears.
JackWannan.com 