The professional baseball NC Dinos saw their bats go cold after just one day. They nearly became the victims of the fifth team no-hit no-run in history. The LG Twins narrowly missed their third team no-hit no-run.
LG and NC faced off on the 23rd at Seoul’s Jamsil Stadium. NC had broken a three-game losing streak with a 6-5 extra-inning victory after exploding for 12 hits the day before. Last weekend, during a three-game series against Hanwha, the team's batting average was .200 and the average score was 2.3 runs.
NC manager Lee Ho-joon praised the players before the game, saying, "Yesterday, the players were truly surprising in their focus. They needed to break the losing streak and since LG is such a strong team, I think the players really had a strong desire to win."
The manager added, "We won against a tough team while on a losing streak. Yesterday's game had multiple ties, but I think our players felt their strength. If we can stick together like that, I'm sure we can do well. Yesterday wasn't just a single victory; I believe we showed a lot in that area, so whether we win or lose today, I think the players will have that mindset."
However, NC could not carry over their momentum from the previous day. The only change in the batting order from the day before was moving clean-up hitter Oh Young-su to Park Han-gyeol, who struggled to get even a single hit. They went down in order against LG starter Song Seung-ki in the first inning, and in the second, lead-off batter Park Han-gyeol reached base on a walk, and after one out, a fielding error by the third baseman created a first and second base opportunity without a hit. However, Seo Ho-cheol, who recorded three RBIs including a home run the day before, popped out to first base, and Kim Hyung-jun struck out.
In the third inning, they went down in order again, and in the fourth, Kwon Hee-dong drew a walk with two outs, but Kim Hwi-jip, who had hit the game-winning double the day before, struck out. In the fifth, they went down in order once more. In the sixth, after two outs, Son Ah-seop walked on a straight ball, but Park Han-gyeol struck out swinging.
There was no turnaround against the LG bullpen either. In the seventh, NC went down in order against LG sidearm pitcher Park Myung-geun, and in the eighth, Kim Hyung-jun, Oh Young-su, and Park Min-woo all struck out against Kim Jin-seong. In the ninth and final at-bat, trailing 0-3, the fear of a team no-hit no-run loomed.
LG closer Jang Hyun-sik took the mound. Against lead-off batter Kim Ju-won, he threw a strike with a 140 km forkball at 1 ball-1 strike. His fastball was a ball, and on his fifth pitch, he threw another 140 km forkball that was hit into fair territory just inside the left line for a double. That was the moment the team no-hit no-run bid was lost. After that, Jang Hyun-sik managed to keep the lead without allowing a run while facing the second and third base threat.
Before the game, manager Yeom Kyung-yeop pointed out Jang Hyun-sik, who had allowed runs in two consecutive games and given up three extra-base hits out of five hits. The manager noted, "Jang Hyun-sik throws two types of forkballs. There is a fast forkball in the low 140s km range and a slower forkball in the low 130s km range. All home runs and extra-base hits came from the fast forkball he threw. I told him to eliminate the fast forkball from his repertoire."
However, Jang Hyun-sik threw a 140 km forkball to Kim Ju-won, breaking the team's no-hit bid.
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