Holding onto a lead they developed in the first half of their game, the Lotte Giants were able to secure a 9-7 victory over the Hanhwa Eagles on Saturday. The win came at the home field of the Giants, the Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, South Korea.
The win was an important one for the Giants, pushing them back up to the fragile sixth-place in the KBO. The team overtook the Kia Tigers, who had their Saturday matchup against the KT Wiz rained out.
Giants Put Down Eight Runs
The Giants put down their lead early, earning eight runs before the Eagles started to return with scoring plays.
The first run came from Son Ah-seop in the first inning, hitting his seventh home run of the year.
Another home run kicked off the third inning rally, with Jung Hoon taking a ball into the outfield. A few batters later, a sacrifice fly from Lee Dae-ho drove home another run.
A hit into the outfield from Dixon Machado brought in two more runs, moving the score to 5-0.
Eagles starter Kim Ee-whan was taken out of play after walking two consecutive batters. Kim got the loss for the game, making his 2020 record a negative 1-4.
While reliever Ahn Young-myung finished the inning, he also walked home a run, ending the inning with a 6-0 score.
Ahn stayed in the game for the next inning, where he gave up two more runs. Lee was able to score a two-run home run against Ahn, tallying down his second and third RBIs for the game.
Eagles Make Game Closer Than Before
The Eagles finally started to answer back in the fifth inning, as a solo home run from Noh Si-hwan put the team on the board.
The team put themselves just barely behind the Giants in the score in the sixth inning, scoring many runs. After a hit from Brandon Barnes took home another run, Lee Sung-yeol scored a three-run home run to make the score 8-5.
Straily Allows Runs Late In Winning Performance
Giants starter Dan Straily was able to finish the game before being taken out of play. Despite allowing some runs late in his performance, Straily earned the win, making his 2020 record 9-4. The game saw him earn 11 strikeouts, one short of his best one-game 2020 record of 12.
Bringing the game to a one-run deficit, a hit from Eagles player Jung Jin-ho made the game 8-7 in the seventh inning. The first run came off of the hit, with the second in the play being helped by a fielding error. The runs were scored against Park Jin-hyung, a pitcher who was replaced by Koo Seung-min before the inning concluded.
Giants player Machado scored an insurance run in the seventh inning, hitting a home run to move the game to its final score of 9-7.
Giants End Week Against Eagles on Sunday
The Giants will host the Eagles for another game on Sunday, concluding their week-long homestretch in Busan. The first pitch for Sunday’s games is set for 5:00PM KST (4:00AM EDT).
Around The KBO
Hits from Park Hae-min and Kim Sang-su allowed the Samsung Lions to get the lead late, defeating the Kiwoom Heroes 5-4.
Getting their fourth win of the week, the NC Dinos won a game 9-5 against the SK Wyverns.
The KBO saw two games taken off of their Saturday schedule.
A 2-0 lead for the Doosan Bears over the LG Twins was put on hold due to rain. The game will be picked up on Sunday, along with the scheduled Sunday game between the teams.
A game between the KT Wiz and the Kia Tigers in Gwangju was rained out. Because of this, the teams are set to play a doubleheader tomorrow. The first game has a special start time of 2:00PM KST (1:00AM EDT).
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