The NC Dinos are in a better position to qualify for the semi-final playoffs (Semi-Po).
NC won 5-3 at home against the Samsung Lions of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at NC Park in Changwon on Friday, using six pitchers in a complete-game effort.
With the win, NC, with 75 wins, 65 losses and two ties, and a winning percentage of 0.536, moved into sole possession of third place, ahead of SSG Landers (74 wins, 65 losses and three ties, a winning percentage of 0.532) and Doosan Bears (74 wins, 66 losses and two ties, a winning percentage of 0.529).
If NC wins both of its remaining games, it will finish in third place and qualify directly for the semifinals, regardless of the results of other teams.
NC will play its final two games of the season against the sixth-place KIA Tigers on April 16-17 in Gwangju.
Third-place contenders SSG and Doosan wrapped up their final two games in Jamsil.
In Changwon, where Song Myung-ki and Won Tae-in faced off on the mound, it was Samsung who struck first.
Samsung took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning when Jose Pirela led off with a solo home run over the left field fence.
However, NC turned the tide in the bottom of the second inning as the Hangzhou Asian Games members answered.
Two batters later, Kim Joo-won drew a walk and Kim Hyung-joon blasted a two-run home run to left field to make it 2-1.
Samsung tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the third when Kim Jae-sung, who drew a walk, came home on a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch.
However, NC regained the lead in the bottom of the inning when Kwon Hee-dong drove in Park Gun-woo with a double down the right-center field line to make it 3-2.
After scoring a run in the sixth on Park Min-woo’s RBI single, NC added a run in the eighth on Park Se-hyuk’s RBI groundout to make it 5-2.
Samsung got one run back in the top of the ninth on Pirela’s RBI double.
After Song Myung-ki (2⅔ innings), NC pitched Lee Jae-hak (2 innings), Kim Young-gyu (1⅓ innings), Ryu Jin-wook (1⅔ innings), Lim Jung-ho (⅓ innings), and Lee Yong-chan (1 inning) to stop the Samsung rally.
In Jamsil, the top-ranked LG Twins clinched the final game of the regular season with a 5-2 victory over the Doosan Bears.
Doosan took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning when Yang Seok-hwan doubled, then a sacrifice bunt and a walk put runners on first and third with Park Jun-young hitting a three-run triple.
However, LG turned the tide in the bottom of the fourth with a big inning.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Moon Sung-joo, who came in as a pinch hitter, lined a triple over the center fielder’s head to make it 3-1.
Doosan center fielder Jung Soo-bin chased it to the fence, but the ball hit his glove and dropped.
LG loaded the bases again and Park Hae-min hit a two-run double to make it 5-1.
Doosan scored a run in the top of the eighth inning when Jose Rojas hit a solo home run, but was unable to make up the difference.
With their three-game winning streak halted, Doosan slipped to fifth place with two games remaining.
In Daejeon, the Hanwha Eagles defeated the Lotte Giants 7-4.
Lotte took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning when Lee Hak-joo hit a two-run homer to right field.
Hanwha responded with a two-run homer by Moon Hyun-bin to tie the game after an offensive shift.
In the sixth inning, with the bases loaded, Lee Jin-young hit an infield single, Moon Hyun-bin singled, and Park Sang-un hit a two-run double to score four runs and make it 6-2.
Two batters later, Choi In-ho singled to right field to score one more run.
Lotte scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth on RBI doubles by Jeon Jun-woo and Lee Jung-hoon, but couldn’t pull away.
Hanwha, which has been in last place for the last three years in a row, will leapfrog Samsung for eighth place with a win in the season finale against Lotte on Saturday. 스포츠토토