A strong two innings gave the Samsung Lions their win on Sunday, going on to defeat the Lotte Giants 8-4. The victory was the second from the Lions in their three-game series against the Giants hosted at the Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, South Korea.
The team gained their lead in the third inning, as a three-run home run was hit by Kang Min-ho. Later runs solidified the team’s lead.
Hits from Koo Ja-wook and Kim Dong-yeop totalled three more runs in the next inning. Giants starter Park Se-woong was pulled after the scoring plays, with his appearance in the game giving him a loss.
Lions starter Ben Lively played for five innings before being taken out of play. His appearance saw him give up three runs and seven hits while attaining four strikeouts.
Giants Hold Lead Early
The Giants held the lead for the first two innings after scoring early. Hits from both Jeon Jun-woo and Lee Byung-kyu took home runs in the opening inning.
The Lions scored later in the inning, as Lee Won-seok batted home a runner.
The Giants scored their third run in the third inning, as an infield single from Lee Dae-ho allowed a runner to reach home plate.
Lee Earns Home Run Late
A run came from each team late in the game. Lee scored another run for the Giants in the seventh, hitting a solo home run against reliever Shim Chang-min.
An inning later, Park Hae-min drove home a runner for the Lions to take the game to its final score of 8-4.
Giants Have Extremely Slim Odds In Making Wild Card
Finishing their week with a loss, the Giants now find themselves with an extremely slim chance of making the playoffs. With 11 games left in the season, the Giants are five-and-a-half games behind the wild card Doosan Bears.
The Giants will have their final full week of play starting on Tuesday, facing the two top teams in the league. Tuesday, the Giants will host a three-game series against the LG Twins.
The team will finish the week in Changwon, facing the top-ranked NC Dinos next weekend.
While next week is the scheduled end of the KBO season, the Giants will six more make-up games the following week. Their final scheduled game is on October 25th.
Around The KBO
A game between the NC Dinos and the LG Twins on Sunday was a tale of two different swings in momentum. As the Dinos took their fifth straight loss with the 7-3 game, the Twins won their sixth-in-a-row.
Needing 12 innings to find a winner, the SK Wyverns finally prevailed, putting down four runs to defeat the Kia Tigers 9-5.
Earning his third-straight win, Warwick Saupold lead the Hanhwa Eagles to a 9-3 win against the Kiwoom Heroes.
The KT Wiz got a walk-off win on Sunday, as a hit from Bae Jeong-dae took home a run in the 10th inning and gave the team a 5-4 win over the Doosan Bears.