The Lotte Giants of professional baseball recorded back-to-back victories with an explosive offense for two consecutive days.
Lotte won 10-9 against the Kiwoom Heroes in the 2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 30th. With this second consecutive win, they secured a winning series in the three-game set during the week.
After their starting shortstop Jeon Min-jae was injured and removed from the first team list in the last game, Lotte arranged their starting lineup as Hwang Seong-bin (center fielder), Ko Seung-min (second base), Victor RAY (designated hitter), Na Seung-yeop (first base), Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Jeon Jun-woo (left fielder), Son Ho-young (third base), Yoo Kang-nam (catcher), and Lee Ho-jun (shortstop).
Lotte's lineup pounded out 16 hits, including 1 home run, against Kiwoom's pitching staff. Including 17 hits in the last game, they showed excellent batting form with 33 hits over the past two games. Na Seung-yeop launched his 7th home run of the season, and RAY racked up 4 hits. Lee Ho-jun recorded a cycling hit without a home run, putting up 3 hits in 4 at-bats with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Son Ho-young and Yoo Kang-nam also achieved multi-hit games.
Starting pitcher Park Se-woong recorded a victory with 3 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits, 1 walk, 1 hit batter, and 2 strikeouts over 5 innings. He garnered his 6th win of the season, rising to the top spot in the league for most wins. The bullpen, consisting of Jeong Hyeon-soo (1 inning, no earned runs), Kim Kang-hyeon (2 innings, 2 earned runs), Park Si-young (⅓ inning, 3 earned runs), and Kim Won-joong (⅔ inning, 1 earned run), narrowly secured the team's victory. Kim Won-joong recorded his 9th save of the season.
Kiwoom's starting lineup featured Lee Yong-kyu (designated hitter), Choi Joo-hwan (first base), Ruben Cardenas (right fielder), Song Seong-moon (third base), Oh Seon-jin (shortstop), Byeon Sang-kwon (left fielder), Kim Tae-jin (second base), Park Joo-hong (center fielder), and Kim Jae-hyun (catcher). Song Seong-moon had a standout game with 3 hits, including his 5th home run of the season. Won Seong-jun also recorded a multi-hit game, including his first home run of the season, while Lee Yong-kyu and Choi Joo-hwan recorded multi-hit games as well, but they could not prevent the team’s defeat.
Starting pitcher Kim Seon-ki recorded a loss with 6 runs on 8 hits (1 home run), 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts over 3⅔ innings. The bullpen, featuring Lee Gang-jun (1⅓ innings, 1 earned run) and Park Joo-seong (4 innings, 3 earned runs), struggled as well. With this defeat, Kiwoom fell into a two-game losing streak.
In the bottom of the second inning, Kiwoom created a scoring opportunity with a hit from lead-off batter Song Seong-moon and a sacrifice bunt from Oh Seon-jin, putting runners on second with one out. Byun Sang-kwon then delivered an RBI double to score the first run. In the continued one-out, two-on opportunity, Kim Tae-jin hit a ground ball to the shortstop, and Park Joo-hong struck out.
Lotte's Yoo Kang-nam drew a walk with one out in the top of the third inning. Lee Ho-jun and Hwang Seong-bin hit consecutive singles, creating a one-out, full-base opportunity. However, Ko Seung-min’s batted ball was caught by center fielder Park Joo-hong, who tagged out the third base runner Yoo Kang-nam rushing home, ending the inning without scoring. Lotte requested a video review, but it was not overturned.
In the bottom of the third inning, Kiwoom's Lee Yong-kyu reached safely on an infield single with one out. Choi Joo-hwan was caught on a pop-up to the left fielder, but Lee Yong-kyu successfully stole second base, and Cardenas reached base after getting hit by a pitch. In a two-out, full-base situation following Song Seong-moon’s walk, Oh Seon-jin hit a ground ball to the shortstop, failing to capitalize on the opportunity.
Lotte's lineup exploded in the top of the fourth inning. Lead-off batter RAY's hit and Na Seung-yeop's two-run homer turned the game around. Yoon Dong-hee struck out, and Jeon Jun-woo grounded out to the second baseman, but hits from Son Ho-young and Yoo Kang-nam, a timely hit from Lee Ho-jun for 1 RBI, a wild pitch score, a walk drawn by Hwang Seong-bin, a timely hit from Ko Seung-min for 1 RBI, and RAY's two-run double quickly widened the score gap to 7-1. Na Seung-yeop grounded out to the third baseman, ending the lengthy at-bat sequence.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Kiwoom's Kim Tae-jin hit a triple with one out, creating an immediate opportunity with one out and a runner on third base. However, Park Joo-hong was caught on a pop-up to the third baseman, and Kim Jae-hyun grounded out to the second baseman, failing to capitalize on the opportunity. In the fifth inning, lead-off batter Lee Yong-kyu created a surprise bunt hit and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Following a ground out from Choi Joo-hwan that advanced the runner to third base, a throwing error by third baseman Son Ho-young on Cardenas's batted ball allowed Lee Yong-kyu to score, with Cardenas advancing to second base. Song Seong-moon added one more with an RBI double.
As Kiwoom closed the gap, Lotte also pulled ahead. In the top of the sixth inning, lead-off batter Yoo Kang-nam hit a double, and Lee Ho-jun hit an RBI triple to extend the lead. Hwang Seong-bin added another run with an RBI ground out. In the seventh inning, lead-off batter Yoon Dong-hee recorded a hit and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Subsequently, a hit from Son Ho-young and a sacrifice fly from Yoo Kang-nam increased the score gap to 10-3.
Kiwoom's Choi Joo-hwan hit a double and Won Seong-jun blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning, narrowing the gap once again. With one out in the ninth, they capitalized on a walk by Lee Yong-kyu and a double from Choi Joo-hwan to create a one-out, runners on second and third opportunity. Won Seong-jun delivered an RBI single, maintaining the chase until the end. Song Seong-moon hit a three-run homer, closing the gap to just one run. However, they could not score again when they were on the verge of tying the game.
[OSEN]