The Lotte Giants, who are at the bottom of the Korean Baseball Organization standings, have won two straight games after losing five in a row.
Lotte won 8-7 against the Samsung Lions at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on March 3. Two wins in a row after five straight losses.
Lotte’s batting order was left fielder Kim Min-seok, second baseman Ko Seung-min, right fielder Victor Reyes, designated hitter Jeon Jun-woo, third baseman Son Ho-young, first baseman Na Seung-yup, center fielder Yoon Dong-hee, shortstop Park Seung-wook, and catcher Yoo Kang-nam. The starting pitcher is right-hander Na Kyun-ahn.
Samsung’s starting lineup is designated hitter Kim Ji-chan, second baseman Kim Jae-sang, right fielder Lee Sung-kyu, first baseman David McKinnon, third baseman Kim Young-woong, shortstop Lee Jae-hyun, catcher Kang Min-ho, left fielder Kim Heon-gon, and center fielder Kim Sung-yoon. Foreign pitcher Connor Seabold took the mound.
Samsung struck first. In the first inning, Kim Ji-chan singled to center field. Kim Jae-sang grounded out to first base, but Kim stole second. Lee Sung-gyu struck out looking to end the threat, but McKinnon singled to center to bring home the runner from second.
Samsung completed its big inning in the second. With the bases loaded and two outs, Kim Sung-yoon hit a double to right-center to score a run. Kim Ji-chan walked to load the bases, and Kim Jae-sang followed with a double down the left field line. Lee Sung-kyu followed with a walk and McKinnon singled to left-center to extend the lead to 5-0.
Lotte battled back and got one run back in the top of the fourth on a leadoff solo arch by Jeon Jun-woo. Na Seung-yeop singled to right and Yoon Dong-hee doubled down the right-field line to put runners on second and third. Park Seung-wook struck out looking to end the threat, but Yoo Kang-nam’s grounder to shortstop McKinnon was mishandled by the first baseman, allowing both runners to score. 3-5.
Lotte had runners on first and third in the fifth inning when Ko Seung-min drew a walk and Reyes singled. Jeon Jun-woo followed with a sacrifice fly to 토토사이트 center field to make it a 4-5 game. Lotte took a 6-5 lead in the seventh when Reyes hit a two-run arch to center field off Samsung’s second pitcher, Lim Chang-min.
Trailing 5-6, Samsung attacked in the bottom of the eighth. Leadoff hitter Kang Min-ho lined a single up the middle against Lotte’s Choi Jun-yong. The Samsung bench brought in Ryu Ji-hyuk to pinch-hit and Kim Hyun-joon for Kim Heon-gon. Ryu stole second base. Kim then drew a walk on a full count. Kim laid down a sacrifice bunt, putting runners on first and second and third. Kim Ji-chan hit a single just over the third baseman’s height. The score was tied at 6-6.
With runners on first and third, Kim Jae-sang grounded to the infield and Kim Hyun-joon was caught stealing third. The out count increased, but runners were on second and third. Lee Sung-gyu flied out to right field to end the threat.
Lotte regained the lead at 8-6 in the top of the ninth when Jeong Hoon hit a two-run arch to left off Samsung set-up man Kim Jae-yoon. Samsung cut the deficit to one run in the top of the ninth on a solo home run by Kim Young-woong. Back-to-back singles by Lee Jae-hyun and Lee Byung-heon put runners on first and second. Both Kim Hyun-joon and Kim Sung-yoon were thrown out at the plate to end the drama.
Right-hander Na Gyun-ahn gave up five runs on seven hits with four walks and three strikeouts in four innings for Lotte.
Samsung starter Conner was shaky, allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits (one homer) with three walks and five strikeouts in five innings, but he came off the mound in the seventh inning with the win requirement with the help of the bats. However, the second pitcher, Lim Chang-min, gave up two runs and was denied his third win of the season. Kim Jae-yoon was the losing pitcher. / Photo.