The professional baseball LG Twins suffered a shutout loss.
LG lost to the KT Wiz 0-5 in a game held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 24th. LG managed to get on base with 8 hits and 5 walks, but not a single player made it home, leaving 12 runners stranded and suffered a shutout loss.
They had a golden opportunity from the first inning. After one out, Kim Hyun-soo hit a double to left-center, Austin walked, and Moon Bo-gyeong got a blooper hit to right-center, creating a bases-loaded chance. Moon Sung-ju's hit was a slightly shallow fly ball that the center fielder could catch. The runner on third, Kim Hyun-soo, tagged up and center fielder Bae Jeong-dae made a throw home on the fly. He was tagged out due to a precise throw.
Trailing 0-1, after two outs in the 5th inning, Shin Min-jae got an infield hit to shortstop, and Kim Hyun-soo walked, setting up a scoring chance on 1st and 2nd base, but Austin hit the first pitch into a groundout to the shortstop.
Trailing 0-1 in the 6th, Moon Bo-gyeong and Moon Sung-ju hit consecutive hits, creating a no-out situation on 1st and 2nd base. At the plate was Park Dong-won. The rain was getting heavier, but there was no sacrifice bunt strategy. Park Dong-won flew out to center field, failing to advance the runners. Gu Bon-hyeok attempted a surprise bunt, but was thrown out at first on a ground ball. With two outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd, pinch hitter Lee Joo-hyun reached on a hit by pitch, but Park Hae-min failed to score with a ground ball to the second baseman.
After a 1 hour and 35 minutes delay, the game resumed with LG allowing 2 runs in the 6th inning by reliever Kim Jin-sung. In the 7th inning, Kim Young-woo came in and gave up a two-run homer to Moon Sang-cheol, making it 0-5, effectively deciding the outcome.
LG had only one shutout loss until the 71st game of this season. They lost 0-4 against Kiwoom on April 9, being limited to just 2 hits against Rosenberg until the 8th inning. In the 9th inning, they failed to score with no outs on 1st and 2nd base against closer Joo Seung-woo.
However, they have suffered two shutout losses in the last 4 games. LG lost 0-3 against NC on the 19th. They were dominated by NC's starter Shin Min-hyuk, who pitched 7 scoreless innings. Then, they suffered another shutout loss against KT on the 24th. The slump of the middle order was evident. There was a lack of focus in crucial moments. Austin, batting third, went 0-for-2 with 2 walks, Moon Bo-gyeong, batting fourth, was 2-for-4, Moon Sung-ju, batting fifth, was also 2-for-4, and Park Dong-won, batting sixth, was 1-for-4. However, they were out of sync.
Manager Youm Kyoung-youb noted before the game on the 24th, ‘If the bats break out, we are a strong team. If the bats break out, it doesn’t matter who we face. If our 3rd, 4th, and 5th batters don’t produce, even if we get on base, we can’t expect anything from them. That’s why there are no come-from-behind wins. In the past year or two, we had some come-from-behind wins, but if the middle order goes silent, we can’t turn things around in the second half.’
Austin ranks second in the institutional sector with 19 home runs. Park Dong-won is tied for fourth with 14 home runs, and Moon Bo-gyeong is tied for seventh with 13 home runs. However, in the last 15 games, Moon Bo-gyeong has a batting average of .189 with 1 home run and 11 RBIs, Austin has a .145 batting average with 2 home runs and 6 RBIs, and Park Dong-won has a .162 batting average with 1 home run and 7 RBIs. The three key hitters are all silent. The slump has persisted for a long time.
Manager Youm noted, ‘At the beginning of the season, the 1st hitter Chang-gi and the 2nd hitter Hae-min weren’t performing well as singles hitters, and we relied on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th batters to win with home runs. We won with two-run and three-run homers, but now the home runs are not coming. We need to hit from the lower order, and we should get on base with walks for big innings to happen.’
With this loss, LG fell 1.5 games behind first-place Hanwha. They are being chased by third-place Lotte, just half a game behind. If the silence of the middle order continues, their second-place position could also be at risk.
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