16-7 LG wins 4 straight after losing 4 straight in the second half. 4 straight wins against the 2nd place Hanji Bung
The LG Twins rebounded from a four-game losing streak in the second half of the season with a four-game winning streak to stay in the hunt for first place.
LG won a 16-7 home game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Stadium on April 19 with a 16-hit outburst from its bats, including two home runs from Austin. After a four-game losing streak to start the second half, LG immediately reeled off four straight wins to consolidate second place and begin chasing the top spot.
With 50 wins and 42 losses, LG moved to within two games of fourth-place Doosan, which is now 49 wins and 45 losses. Doosan’s recent four-game winning streak also improved their head-to-head record to 5-4.
LG’s starting lineup was Hong Chang-ki (right fielder), Moon Sung-joo (designated hitter), Austin (first baseman), Moon Bo-kyung (third baseman), Kim Hyun-soo (left fielder), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Park Dong-won (catcher), Park Hae-min (center fielder), and Shin Min-jae (second baseman). It was the first time this season that Kim Hyun-soo was used in the fifth spot.
Doosan’s starting lineup was Jung Soo-bin (center fielder), Heo Kyung-min (third baseman), Kang Seung-ho (second baseman), Kim Jae-hwan (designated hitter), Yang Seok-hwan (first baseman), Ramos (right fielder), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), Kim Ki-yeon (catcher), and Cho Sung-hyun (left fielder). Yang Ji-hyun, who has a knee bruise, had trouble running and was limited to pinch-hitting. Rookie closer Kim Taek-yeon, who had pitched two days in a row, was rested.
With second-place LG, third-place Samsung and fourth-place Doosan all within one game of each other in a tight second-place battle, it’s imperative that they win their head-to-head games to separate themselves.
LG’s Chan-kyu Lim and Doosan’s Keisho Shirakawa are the starting pitchers. It was all about which team’s batting lineup would break through first, as the earlier the better.
In the bottom of the first inning, LG struck first. Hong Chang-ki singled to center, Austin singled to right, and Moon Bo-kyung walked to load the bases. Kim Hyun-soo hit a line drive to right field that was caught by second baseman Kang Seung-ho and thrown to second for the force out. Third baseman Hong Chang-ki then singled home the go-ahead run. Oh Ji-hwan followed with a walk to load the bases again, but Park Dong-won struck out swinging to end the threat.
Doosan rallied in the top of the third inning. The bottom of the order came through. Kim Ki-yeon, who joined Doosan in the second round of the draft from LG, took a curveball from Lim Chan-kyu and launched a tying solo shot over the left field wall. After Cho Sung-yueng singled to right and stole second, Kang Seung-ho doubled down the left-field line to cut the deficit to 2-1, Doosan went up by three runs, 4-1, when Kim Jae-hwan 카지노사이트 launched a two-run shot over the left-field wall. He pushed a first-pitch curveball from Lim Chan-kyu over the wall.
However, LG struck first, plating Shirakawa. Austin responded with a solo shot in the bottom of the third. In the top of the fourth inning, Doosan scored one run on a walk to Jeon Min-jae and a single to right field by Kim Ki-yeon with runners on first and third on a grounder in front of the second baseman by Cho Sun-soo to regain a three-run lead, 5-2.
But in the bottom of the fourth, Shirakawa faltered and LG capitalized. After a leadoff infield single by Oh Ji-hwan, Park Dong-won drew a walk two strikes later to shake up Shirakawa’s mentality. With runners on first and second, Park laid down a sacrifice bunt, but Shirakawa couldn’t get the pitch. Four consecutive balls were thrown to load the bases for Musa, forcing manager Lee Seung-yeop to replace the pitcher with Lee Kyo-hoon.
However, LG quickly tied the game at 5-5 with Shin Min-jae’s RBI single to center field and Hong Chang-ki’s RBI double to right field over the first baseman’s head. With runners on first and third, Moon Sung-joo lined a single in front of the shortstop to make it 6-5. Shirakawa, who struggled in his first start for Doosan, giving up four runs (two earned) on three hits and six walks in 3⅔ innings, was even worse this time, giving up five runs on four hits (one home run) with four walks and one strikeout in three innings.
After Lim retired the side in order in the fifth and sixth innings to keep their chances alive, LG’s bats came alive once more. After a leadoff walk by Shin Min-jae, a stolen base, and a fly ball to right field by Hong Chang-ki put runners on first and third with the bases loaded, LG brought in pinch-hitter Kim Bum-seok. He calmly picked the ball and drew a walk. Choi Seung-min stole second to put runners on first and third. Austin then took a seven-pitch, 146-kilometer fastball in the 2B2S and hit a wedge three-run shot over the left field wall. The score was 9-5, and it was clear who was going to win.
LG scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on five hits and four walks, and added one more in the eighth for a whopping 16 runs, showing off the full LG batting lineup.
Austin shined in particular. Starting with a single to right in the first inning, a solo shot in the third, a three-run shot in the sixth, and an RBI double in the seventh, Austin went 4-for-5 with five RBIs. He also had a cycling hit that missed the third base line. Oh also went 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, while Hong Chang-ki had two hits and three RBIs.
LG starter Lim Chan-kyu gave up seven hits (two homers), one walk and five strikeouts in the sixth inning, but got help from his offense to pick up the win and improve to 6-4 on the season.
Doosan was forced to play the hard way as an early 5-2 lead was not protected by Shirakawa’s shaky pitching. In the top of the ninth inning, Park Jun-young hit a solo home run to give Doosan fans something to cheer about.