Giants Evade Sweep With Four Run Lead Over Lions

The Lotte Giants won a 7-3 game at home over the Samsung Lions on Sunday, evading a loss that would push them farther away from sixth place in the KBO. The win, which came at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, Korea, saw the team have many flurries of runs that gave them a safe lead near the end.

The series was an important one for both teams as they currently sit side-by-side on the KBO rankings. While the Lions won the first two games, a win on Sunday brought the Giants to only half-a-game behind the team.

Giants Get Up By Three Early

Before the Giants started scoring, the Lions got one on the board. The first run came in early, as a hit from Lee Sung-gon drove home a runner to make the game 1-0 Lions.

Scoring kicked off for the Giants in the third, as a hit from Lee Dae-ho scored two runs, including Jeon Jun-woo who dashed around from first base to home.

The scoring continued an inning later as the Giants were able to extend the lead to 4-1. First, a hit from Kim Jae-yoo scored a runner. In the next at-bat, Son Ah-seop batted in another run with a hit.

Starters Handed Decisions

Being given the loss for the game, Lions starter Kim Dae-woo was taken out of the game after four innings.

Giants starter Park Se-woong was pulled after the sixth inning where he gave up a two-run home run to Koo Ja-wook. Allowing three runs and four hits over six innings, Park was given the win for the game.

Final Runs For Giants

Scoring was capped off in the sixth by a rally of hits from the Giants. First, a sacrifice fly from Min Byung-hun brought in a run. After that, Son Ah-seop hit a two-run home run against reliever Im Hyun-joon. This brought the Giants lead to 7-3.

Lions and Giants Remain Close

After finishing their series against each other, the Giants and Lions are still close together on the standings. The sixth-place Lions finish the week with a 24-24 record, as the Giants sit only half-a-game behind with a 22-23 record.

The Lions will have a home stretch through the next week, hosting games against the SK Wyverns and LG Twins.

The Giants will play their first series this season against the NC Dinos on Tuesday. After that, the team will start a three-game series at home versus the SK Wyverns, who they are 2-0 against.

The series could potentially be the first this season for the Giants with a live crowd as the KBO aims to bring fans back on Friday.

Around The KBO

A low scoring game saw a single run from the bat of Kim Hye-sung to give the Kiwoom Heroes a 1-0 win over the Kia Tigers.

In one of the many shutout games on Sunday, the LG Twins got a 4-0 win against the SK Wyverns.

A rough 2020 start for Hanhwa Eagles pitcher Chad Bell continued on Sunday, as his record moved to 0-5 through seven appearances. The starter gave up five runs in the first inning in what would be an 8-4 win for the KT Wiz.

Strong pitching from Drew Rucinski helped the NC Dinos get a 4-0 win over the Doosan Bears. The top-ranked KBO team won the series 2-1 over the second-place Bears this week.

Giants Avoid Shutout, Losing By Five Runs To The Lions

The Samsung Lions accumulated six runs for what ended to be a 6-1 victory over the hosting Lotte Giants on Saturday. The game which happened at the Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, Korea saw the Giants avoid a shutout in the very last inning.

The win is the second straight for the Lions, who won an extra-innings outing over the Giants on Friday 6-4.

Lee Earns Two RBIs

The Lions got ahead early off of two different plays lead by Lee Sung-gon.

Lee started the second inning with a solo home run to left-center. The home run was his first of the year. An inning later, Lee drove home Park Hae-min to make the game 2-0. The play moved Lee’s number of RBIs in 2020 to double digits (10).

Sampson Out After Five

The Lions strung together a rally in the sixth that took Giants starter Adrian Sampson out of the game. The pitcher was pulled after a hit from Kim Dong-yeop drove a runner home.

Sampson was given the loss for the game after allowing eight hits and four runs. Sampson’s record moved to 2-4, as he’s been one of the pitchers for the Busan team that’s had trouble early in the season. He currently has a 6.16 ERA, the highest among the starting rotation.

Scoring Continues Against Relievers

Two more pitchers played in the sixth inning before the Giants could wrap it up. First it was Lee In-bok who allowed two hits. Park Shi-young closed out the inning facing two batters. The first of the two was Kim Ji-chan, who scored a runner through a sacrifice bunt.

Furthering their then-shutout lead, the Lions put two more runs on the board in the eighth inning. First, a hit from Kim Heon-gon scored a run. The next batter, Kang Min-ho, drove home another to make the game 6-0. The runs came against Park Myeong-hyeon, who’s ERA inflated to a 27.00 after since it was only his second KBO game.

Lions Pitching Holds Giants Until Late

While the Giants lost by a wide margin, the team avoided a shutout in the ninth inning after a hit from Dixon Machado drove home Jeon Jun-woo. The run came against Jang Ji-hoon, who finished the game for the Lions.

Apart from the singular run allowed late, it was a very successful evening on the mound for the Lions. Starter Baek Jung-hyun got his third win of the year after six innings, evening his 2020 record to 3-3. The starter earned six strikeouts and only allowed three hits.

Innings seven and eight were handled by Kim Yoon-soo and Noh Sung-ho. Only one run was allowed, coming against Kim in the seventh.

Lions Look For Sweep To End Week

The Giants are scheduled to host one more home game this week against the Lions with first pitch happening Sunday at 5:00PM KST (4:00AM EDT). The game, like the two before, could widen the gap between the sixth-place 24-23 Lions and the seventh-place 21-23 Giants.

Around The KBO

A game that only lasted two hours and 22 minutes saw the Kiwoom Heroes get a 2-0 victory over the Kia Tigers. Heroes starter Eric Jokisch had a strong outing, allowing only one hit through eight innings.

Pitcher Jung Chan-heon went all nine innings for the LG Twins, helping the team get a 3-0 win against the SK Wyverns.

A tied 3-3 game went quickly out of reach in the ninth for the NC Dinos, as the hosting Doosan Bears scored nine runs to win 12-3. The series between the two top KBO teams is now tied 1-1.

The KT Wiz had good batting throughout their nine-inning game against the Hanhwa Eagles. The Wiz bounced back from their previous loss with a 7-2 win.

Extra Innings Stops Giants Comeback Against Lions

The Samsung Lions picked up an extra-innings win on Friday, defeating the hosting Lotte Giants 6-4. The win, which came at the Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, Korea saw both starters play into deep innings.

Lions Start, But Giants Follow

No runs came early as the starting pitchers were able to keep hits to a minimum for half of the game.

The Lions started the scoring in the sixth with a solo home run from Lee Sung-gon. Later in the inning, a sacrifice fly from Koo Ja-wook brought a runner home to make the game 2-0.

The Giants answered back in the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run from Jeon Jun-woo.

Starting pitcher for the Lions Won Tae-in was taken out in the seventh after allowing five hits and one run in his outing.

The lead for the Lions got extended in the eighth after a hit from Lee Hak-ju made the game 4-1. Giants starter Dan Straily was taken out after this play. Straily, who has went deep into games many times this season now allowed eight hits and four runs in his appearance while attaining three strikeouts.

Also in the eighth inning there was an injury at second base as Lions player Lee Won-seok collided with An Chi-hong. Lee was helped off the field and replaced by Kim Sang-su. An was able to continue and eventually finish the game.

The Giants were able to tie the game up in the bottom of the eighth. First, a ground ball brought home a run. In the next play a hit from Lee Dae-ho drove Son home. The runs came against Choi Ji-gwang, who was taken out of play after for Woo Kyu-min.

With Woo in the game, the tying run came off the bat to pinch hitter Kim Jae-yoo, who took Kim Dong-han around from second.

Lions Win The Game

The Lions took the lead for good in the 10th against reliever Park Jin-hyung. Hits from Kim Sang-su and Kim Dong-yeop drove home runners and made the final score 6-4. The loss went to Park, his second over 22 appearances this season.

A good 10th inning pitching performance from Oh Seung-hwan gave the Lion his third save of the year.

Lions reliever Woo who appeared in the eighth was given the win for the game.

The Giants came into Friday after their longest layoff this season as their Wednesday and Thursday games were rained out.

Lions Ahead In Rankings, But Not By Much

The win put the Lions sixth in the KBO with a record of 23-23. This puts them half-a-game ahead of the 21-22 Giants.

The Lions, who are two-and-a-half games behind the fifth-ranked LG Twins, have a chance to extend their lead over the Giants as the series continues in the next two days. On the flip side, the Giants have room to take sixth place back as well.

First pitch for Saturday’s game is set for 5:00AM KST (4:00AM EDT).

Around The KBO

Strong pitching from the SK Wyverns, including a six-inning hitless performance from Lee Geon-wook, helped give the team a shutout 6-0 win over the LG Twins.

A big fifth inning sealed a win for the Hanhwa Eagles on Friday, winning against the KT Wiz 7-4.

A heavy-hitting game went in favour of the Kia Tigers on Friday, who defeated the Kiwoom Heroes 8-6.

In what is undeniably the most important series of the week, the NC Dinos kicked off their first of three games against the Doosan Bears on Friday. The first game went to the Dinos, who picked up a 9-3 which included a late ninth-inning rally that tacked five onto their lead.

Double Pitching Debut Sees Lions Defeat Giants

Winning their second game of the series, the Samsung Lions took a 3-1 win against the Lotte Giants on Thursday. The game was the last of the Giants’ home stretch at the Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, Korea.

Two Debuts, Different Fortunes

Lions starter Heo Yoon-dong held off Giants batters early in the game. His performance gave him a win in his first KBO appearance. The 18-year-old pitched five innings, allowing four hits and one walk.

Also debuting in the KBO was Adrian Sampson, who was pulled in the fourth inning after a second run came against him. Making his first KBO appearance, Sampson was given a loss after allowing three hits and two runs.

Four Runs, Four Different Innings

It looked as if the Giants would get up by three runs in the first inning, as a hit into left field by Lee Dae-ho was ruled as a home run. However, upon instant replay, the ruling was overturned as it was actually in foul territory.

After the Giants nearly got on the board first, it was the Lions who were able to get a run in. A hit from Kim Heon-gon into left field allowed Park Chan-ho to score.

Adding a second run to the lead, Tyler Saladino brought in Lee Won-seok in the fourth.

Heon-gon picked up another RBI in the sixth, batting in the third and final run for the Lions.

The Giants scored in the eighth inning after a hit from Kim Joon-tae brought in a runner.

Teams To Meet Familiar Faces For The First Time

With a 2-1 three-game series, the Lions moved up to eighth place in the KBO, now ranked above the Hanhwa Eagles. The Giants have an even 10-10 record now, remaining in fifth place.

The Giants now hit the road for a three-game series against the Doosan Bears. They’re the first team this season they’ve met before, losing two of three games to the defending champions earlier in May.

The Lions will head home, hosting the currently top-ranked NC Dinos. In their season-opening series, the Lions were swept three-games-to-none by the Dinos.

First pitch for both Friday games start at 6:30PM KST (5:30AM EDT).

Around The KBO

Strong pitching lead by Casey Kelley allowed the LG Twins to earn a shutout 3-0 win against the Hanhwa Eagles. With the win, the Twins swept the series.

Bouncing back from two consecutive losses, the SK Wyverns got a 6-1 win against the Doosan Bears.

A strong fifth inning helped lead the KT Wiz to a 6-5 win against the Kia Tigers.

Earning their fifth win in a row, the NC Dinos got a 9-6 win over the Kiwoom Heroes.

Giants Prevail Over Lions After Straily Versus Chae-heung Pitching Battle

Dominant pitching made for a low scoring game on Tuesday, as the Lotte Giants took a 1-0 win over the Samsung Lions. The scoring play for the Giants didn’t come until after both starting pitchers finished their successful performances.

The win opened the home series for the Giants at the Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, Korea.

The Deciding and Sole Run

The only scoring play in the game came in the eighth inning, with Giants first baseman Lee Dae-ho driving Son Ah-seop home. The run came against Lions reliever Lee Seung-hyun, who was given the loss for the game.

Pitchers Steal The Show

Both teams had strong pitching throughout, with 10 hits being allowed in total.

Giants starter Dan Straily kept the Lions to three hits, being pulled early in the seventh inning. Getting seven strikeouts in the appearance, Straily made his season total 32, tying him for most strikesouts in the league along with Koo Chang-mo.

Koo Seung-min, the eighth inning reliever for the Giants was given the win for the game. The ninth inning appearance from Kim Won-joong gave him his third-straight save.

Lions starter Choi Chae-heung played for seven innings, earning five strikeouts and allowing three hits.

Two More At Home For Giants

After the win, the Giants sit in fifth place in the KBO, with a positive record of 10-8. The Lions are currently in ninth place in the league with a 6-13 record.

The Giants an Lions will play two more games this week in Busan, Korea. The second game is set to start at 6:30PM KST (5:30AM EDT) on Wednesday.

Around The KBO

Scoring five runs in the eighth inning, the Doosan Bears were able to mount a comeback to defeat the SK Wyverns 6-4.

Keeping the Hanhwa Eagles to only three hits, the LG Twins earned a 3-0 win to start the series.

A strong second inning put the NC Dinos ahead for the game, closing with a score of 7-2 against the Kiwoom Heroes. With a 14-3 record, the Dinos sit atop the KBO standings, with the second place team being three games behind.

A strong pitching performance led by Drew Gagnon held the KT Wiz to four hits and helped the Kia Tigers get a 4-1 win to start the fourth week of play.