The professional baseball LG Twins won against the Lotte Giants in a key matchup for 1st to 2nd place.
LG triumphed 17-9 after a slugfest with Lotte in the 2025 KBO League game held on the 20th at Busan Sajik Stadium. LG recorded the most runs of the season with 12 hits, including a grand slam, and 13 walks. Lotte had 16 hits.
LG starter Song Seung-ki recorded his 4th win of the season, going 5 innings while allowing 7 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk, striking out 4, and giving up 3 runs. Song Chan-eui drove in 6 runs, including his first career grand slam.
Lotte starter Yoon Sung-bin was early pulled after going 1 inning, allowing 4 hits, 6 walks, 1 hit by pitch, and giving up 9 runs. Park Jin-i allowed 5 runs over 5 innings, giving up 6 hits, including 1 home run. Song Jae-young allowed 1 run over 1⅓ innings, while Kim Kang-hyun allowed 2 runs over 1⅔ innings.
LG fielded a starting lineup consisting of Park Hae-min (center fielder), Moon Sung-joo (designated hitter), Kim Hyun-soo (first baseman), Moon Bo-kyung (third baseman), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Song Chan-eui (right fielder), Koo Bon-hyuk (second baseman), Ham Chang-geon (left fielder), and Lee Ju-heon (catcher).
Lotte’s starting lineup featured Jang Du-sung (center fielder), Ko Seung-min (second baseman), Reyes (left fielder), Jeon Jun-woo (designated hitter), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), Na Seung-yeop (first baseman), Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Yoo Gang-nam (catcher), and Son Ho-young (third baseman).
In the 1st inning, Park Hae-min struck out on 3 pitches, Moon Sung-joo hit a single to left, and Kim Hyun-soo struck out on 3 pitches. With 2 outs and a runner on 1st, Moon Bo-kyung walked, and Oh Ji-hwan reached on a hit by pitch, loading the bases. Song Chan-eui earned a walk to push in the first run. Koo Bon-hyuk hit a 2-RBI single on a full count, giving LG a 3-0 lead.
In the 2nd inning, Lee Ju-heon and Park Hae-min earned back-to-back walks, creating a no-out opportunity with runners on 1st and 2nd. Moon Sung-joo hit a single up the middle for 1 RBI. Kim Hyun-soo walked on 4 straight pitches, loading the bases with no outs. Moon Bo-kyung earned a walk to increase the lead by 1. Oh Ji-hwan's mis-hit ball eluded the pitcher, resulting in an infield hit in front of the 2nd baseman. LG led 6-0.
Lotte removed starter Yoon Sung-bin and brought in Park Jin as a relief pitcher. Song Chan-eui hit a grand slam over the left field wall off a slider (132 km) from Park Jin, marking his first career grand slam.
Lotte's lead-off hitter Yoon Dong-hee reached on a single to left in the bottom of the 3rd. After 1 out, Son Ho-young hit a 2-run homer over the left field wall off Song Seung-ki's 147 km fastball, narrowing the score to 10-2.
In the 4th, lead-off hitter Moon Bo-kyung hit a single to right, and Oh Ji-hwan hit a double to right-center, setting up a no-out chance with runners on 2nd and 3rd. A ground ball from Song Chan-eui to the shortstop allowed the runner on 3rd to score. With 1 out and a runner on 2nd, Koo Bon-hyuk hit a timely single to add another run.
Next, Ham Chang-geon hit a double to left, creating another opportunity with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Lee Ju-heon then hit a 2-RBI single to left, extending the score to 14-2.
In the bottom of the 4th, after 1 out, Jeon Min-jae reached on a double to left-center. After 2 outs, Yoon Dong-hee hit a timely single to right, scoring 1 run. Yoo Gang-nam hit a double down the left field line, and Son Ho-young earned a walk to load the bases with 2 outs, but Jang Du-seong struck out swinging, failing to convert the opportunity.
Lotte made a strong push in the bottom of the 6th against LG's bullpen. Against new pitcher Seong Dong-hyun, lead-off hitter Na Seung-yeop hit a single to left, Yoon Dong-hee hit a single to left, and Yoo Gang-nam earned a walk, setting up a no-out chance with the bases loaded. Son Ho-young's infield single to 3rd base helped score 1 run.
LG replaced their pitcher with left-handed Kim Yoo-young. Jang Du-seong hit a timely single up the middle, narrowing the deficit by 1 run. A passed ball during Ko Seung-min's at-bat allowed the runner on 3rd to score. Ko Seung-min hit a 2-run double to left-center with no outs, narrowing the score to 14-8. Reyes then hit a double down the right field line, making it 14-9.
LG ultimately brought in their setup man Park Myung-keun. Jeon Jun-woo hit a single to left to put runners on 1st and 3rd, and Jeon Min-jae earned a walk to load the bases again with no outs. However, Na Seung-yeop flew out to the catcher for a foul, followed by consecutive strikeouts from Yoon Dong-hee and Yoo Gang-nam. Failing to capitalize on the bases loaded, the score remained 14-9.
LG replaced pitcher Park Myung-keun with Kim Young-woo in the bottom of the 7th. Lotte's Jang Du-seong reached on a single to left after 1 out. Ko Seung-min reached on an infield hit deflected off the pitcher, creating runners on 1st and 2nd.
Reyes turned 9 foul balls in a lengthy 13-pitch at-bat, but ultimately grounded out to 2nd base. With 2 outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd, Jeon Jun-woo flew out to the right fielder on a full count, wasting the opportunity to narrow the gap.
In the top of the 8th, lead-off hitter Moon Bo-kyung reached on a walk, and a sacrifice bunt set up a 1-out, 2nd and 3rd opportunity. Lotte replaced pitcher Song Jae-young with Kim Kang-hyun. Song Chan-eui was hit by a pitch, and Koo Bon-hyuk earned a walk to set up a bases loaded opportunity with 1 out.
Austin came in as a pinch hitter and earned a walk to push in a run. Park Dong-won added another run with a sacrifice fly to center field. With 2 outs and runners on 1st and 3rd, Park Hae-min hit a timely single to left, extending the lead to 17-9.
LG's Baek Seung-hyun pitched the bottom of the 8th, finishing the game with 2 scoreless innings.
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