The Lotte Giants of the Korean Professional Baseball League avenged their loss from the previous day, led by the scoreless performance of June MVP candidate Alex Gamboa.
Lotte won decisively 5-2 against the LG Twins in the '2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League' regular season match held at Sajik Stadium in Busan on July 2. With this victory, Lotte leveled the series record at 1 win and 1 loss, maintaining third place with a season record of 44 wins, 35 losses, and 3 ties. LG recorded 45 wins, 34 losses, and 2 ties, narrowing the gap with third-place Lotte to just one game.
LG started with Shin Min-jae (second baseman), Kim Hyun-soo (designated hitter), Moon Sung-ju (left fielder), Moon Bo-gyeong (third baseman), Park Dong-won (catcher), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Kim Ju-seong (first baseman), Song Chan-ui (right fielder), and Choi Won-young (center fielder). The starting pitcher was Im Chan-kyu.
Lotte started with Jang Du-seong (center fielder), Park Chan-hyung (second baseman), Reyes (left fielder), Jeon Jun-woo (designated hitter), Na Seung-yeop (first baseman), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), Park Seung-wook (third baseman), Jeung Bo-keun (catcher), and Kim Dong-hyeok (right fielder). Alex Gamboa was on the mound.
Both teams played tightly. The aces were unable to get any response from the lineup. LG succeeded in reaching base for the first time with a walk from Song Chan-ui after one out in the third. Although Choi Won-young struck out with one out and one runner on first, Shin Min-jae hit a right-field single, marking their first hit. In a subsequent two outs with runners on first and second, Kim Hyun-soo popped out to center field, missing the opportunity. Lotte also managed to reach base for the first time in the third inning with Jeung Bo-keun drawing a walk after one out, but no further hits followed.
LG had another opportunity in the top of the fourth. After one out, Moon Bo-gyeong hit a double off the right field wall to create a chance. Park Dong-won grounded out to the second baseman, leaving two outs and a runner on third. Oh Ji-hwan walked, maintaining the two outs and runners on first and third, but Kim Ju-seong could only manage a groundout to second base, failing to score.
In the end, Lotte did not miss their chance. After one out in the fourth, Reyes broke Im Chan-kyu's no-hitter with a single to left field. Then in a situation with one out and one on, Jeon Jun-woo hit a two-run homer over the left center wall. He hit a 137 km/h changeup on the third pitch with one ball and one strike, marking his seventh home run of the season. LG consistently had runners on base but could not overcome Gamboa's command. After two outs in the fifth, Shin Min-jae hit a left-field single followed by a stolen base, Kim Hyun-soo walked, and Moon Sung-ju had a fortunate infield hit, creating a two-out chance with the bases loaded. However, Moon Bo-gyeong's groundout to shortstop wasted the opportunity.
In the sixth inning, after two outs, Kim Ju-seong walked but Song Chan-ui struck out. Gamboa continued his scoreless pitching through six innings. Then, in the bottom of the sixth, Lotte finally scored again. After one out, Park Chan-hyung hit a single to center field to create another opportunity. Reyes struck out, resulting in two outs and one runner on, but Jeon Jun-woo hit a single to right field, maintaining the two outs and runners on first and second. Kim Min-sung, who was substituted for Na Seung-yeop at third base, faced his first at-bat and hit a crucial double, making it 3-0.
In a continued situation with two outs and runners on second and third, pitcher Lee Ji-kang committed a balk, allowing the runner on third to score. With two outs and a runner on third, Jeon Min-jae hit a groundout to second base, but an error by LG led to another run being scored. Lotte extended their lead to 5-0. LG targeted Gamboa again in the seventh inning. After two outs, Kim Hyun-soo and Moon Sung-ju hit consecutive singles, creating a two-out opportunity with runners on first and second. Moon Bo-gyeong aimed at the first pitch from the new pitcher Choi Jun-yong but hit a groundout to shortstop. However, an error by Lotte's second baseman Park Chan-hyung allowed the bases to be loaded with two outs. Nevertheless, Park Dong-won popped out to left field, wasting another opportunity in the seventh.
Gamboa pitched a dominant game, going 6⅔ innings allowing 6 hits, 4 walks, and striking out 6 with no runs scored, extending his streak to 6 consecutive wins as a starter. He maintained his performance through July after posting a perfect 5-0 record and an earned run average of 1.72 (31⅓ innings, 6 earned runs) in May. Following Gamboa, Lotte's reliable setup man Choi Jun-yong pitched 1⅓ innings allowing 1 walk and striking out 1 scoreless inning before Jeong Cheol-won closed out the game. Cleanup hitter Jeon Jun-woo contributed with multiple hits, including the key two-run homer.
LG's starter Im Chan-kyu recorded 5⅔ innings allowing 5 hits (including 1 home run), 1 walk, striking out 5, and allowing 5 runs (4 earned), becoming the losing pitcher. In the ninth inning, LG managed a chance with Choi Won-young's left-field single and Kim Hyun-soo's double creating a one-out opportunity with runners on second and third, but Park Hae-min's two-run single to right field could only close the gap to 2-5, ultimately avoiding a shutout.
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