In the season's first 'Nakdong River Derby' held at Sajik Stadium, the visiting Lotte Giants secured a victory against the NC Dinos.
On Nov. 11, the Lotte Giants won the away game against the NC Dinos in their first matchup of the regular season of the '2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League' at Sajik Stadium in Busan, with a score of 7-5. With this win, Lotte improved to 7 wins, 9 losses, and 1 draw, while NC fell to 6 wins and 8 losses.
Lotte's starting lineup consisted of Hwang Sung-bin (center fielder), Ko Seung-min (second baseman), Na Seung-yeop (third baseman), RAY (left fielder), Jeong Hoon (designated hitter), Kim Min-seong (third baseman), Yoo Kang-nam (catcher), Jang Du-seong (right fielder), and Jeon Min-jae (shortstop). The starting pitcher was Park Se-woong.
NC's starting lineup included Park Min-woo (second baseman), Kim Joo-won (shortstop), Son Ah-seop (right fielder), Davidson (first baseman), Kwon Hee-dong (left fielder), Kim Hwi-jip (third baseman), Oh Young-soo (designated hitter), Park Se-hyuk (catcher), and Kim Seong-wook (center fielder). The starting pitcher was Kim Tae-kyung.
The game was originally scheduled to be held at Changwon NC Park. However, following an incident at the end of last month that prompted an urgent safety inspection of the stadium, it became unusable, forcing the venue to be moved. While this three-game series is being held at Lotte's home Sajik Stadium, all games are considered home games for NC.
The game saw Lotte take the lead by narrowly capitalizing on a bases-loaded opportunity in the first inning. Lotte recorded a single from lead-off batter Hwang Sung-bin, a double to right-center from Ko Seung-min, and walked Na Seung-yeop to load the bases with no outs. However, RAY and Jeong Hoon both struck out, leaving two outs with the bases still loaded.
It turned into a crisis for Lotte. However, Kim Min-seong delivered a three-run double down the left-field line, extending their lead to 3-0. Following an error on a throw to home plate, which occurred with two outs and a runner at third base, Yoo Kang-nam’s single to left drove in a run, making it 4-0. NC quickly pulled starting pitcher Kim Tae-kyung and summoned the bullpen. In the bottom of the second inning, NC managed to score. After one out, Kwon Hee-dong earned a walk. Kim Hwi-jip struck out, but at two outs and with a runner at first, Oh Young-soo, who was called up that day and made his starting debut, hit a timely double that struck the left-field wall, bringing in one run.
In the bottom of the fourth, NC added another run. Lead-off batter Davidson reached base on a single to left. After that, Kwon Hee-dong flew out to center field. During this play, center fielder Hwang Sung-bin attempted an aggressive throw to nab the runner at first, but made an error in the throw. NC capitalized on this, creating a scoring opportunity with one out and a runner at second, and Kim Hwi-jip's timely single up the middle helped NC close the gap to 2-4.
Lotte had opportunities to score additional runs but failed to capitalize. In the second, lead-off batter Hwang Sung-bin reached on a single to right, but Ko Seung-min hit into a double play. In the fifth inning, lead-off batter Ko Seung-min got a hit towards left field but was thrown out attempting to reach second base. Later, with no runners on, RAY hit a double, adding to Lotte's regret.
In the sixth inning, lead-off batter Kim Min-seong got on base with a single to right. However, he was unsuccessful in a stolen base attempt. After that, Yoo Kang-nam walked, keeping the inning alive. Lotte continued to threaten with one out and runners at first and second after Jang Du-seong hit a single to right. Jeon Min-jae struck out, but with two outs and runners on first and second, Hwang Sung-bin’s timely single to left pushed the score to 5-2.
However, Lotte's joy was short-lived. NC immediately tied the game. In the sixth inning, lead-off batter Son Ah-seop hit a single to left. Davidson struck out, but with Kwon Hee-dong’s walk, NC had a scoring opportunity with one out and runners at first and second. Kim Hwi-jip flew out to the shortstop, but Oh Young-soo came up big again. In a critical moment with two outs, runners at first and second, and a 2-ball count, Oh Young-soo hammered a 150km fastball from Park Se-woong over the center field wall for a game-tying three-run home run. The score was now tied at 5-5. Oh Young-soo has hit home runs in two consecutive games over the span of a year. This was his first home run in 318 days since the last one on May 28, 2024, against Kia in Changwon, which had been his last game of the previous year.
The game continued to be tightly contested. Lotte's Park Se-woong pitched until the seventh inning. In 7 innings, he allowed 5 hits (including 1 home run), issued 3 walks, recorded 9 strikeouts, and gave up 5 runs (4 earned), easing the burden on the bullpen. He delivered 106 pitches.
Then, Lotte regained the lead in the top of the eighth inning. After one out, Yoo Kang-nam reached base on a hit-by-pitch, setting up a scoring opportunity with one out and a runner at second due to a wild pitch. Jang Du-seong's ground ball to shortstop resulted in two outs and a runner at third, and Jeon Min-jae came through with a timely single to right, giving Lotte a 6-5 lead again.
Lotte successfully added insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning. Lead-off batter Ko Seung-min earned a walk, and Na Seung-yeop hit a one-bounce ground ball past the first baseman, rolling into the outfield for a timely triple. The score was now 7-5. Lotte brought in closer Kim Won-jung in the ninth to maintain their 2-run lead.
[OSEN]