The ‘Lotte Effect’ led to a deceptive upset at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, which has been sold out for two consecutive days.
The Kiwoom Heroes defeated the Lotte Giants 7-5 thanks to a dramatic come-from-behind grand slam by Lim Ji-yeol to climb out of the four-game losing tunnel in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Monday.
Lotte’s hopes of overtaking second-placed SSG Landers, who did not play on the day due to rain, were dashed.
The impact of a furious five-run ninth inning comeback after falling behind 0-6 the previous day was the catalyst for Kiwoom’s turnaround.메이저놀이터
Lotte dominated Kiwoom until the midway point of the game, thanks to a strong performance from starter Na Gyun-ahn, who struck out nine in six innings and limited them to one run.
Lotte scored two runs in the second inning on two sacrifice flies by Ko Seung-min and Han Dong-hee, and took a 3-0 lead two batters later on a leadoff triple by Jeon Jun-woo and an RBI single by Ahn Chi-hong.
With the score 3-1, Lotte added two more runs in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly by Jeon and an RBI single by Ahn Chi-hong.
Kiwoom pounded the Lotte bullpen after Na Gyun-an was hit by a pitch.
Trailing 5-1 in the seventh, a double and a walk loaded the bases and an infield grounder brought in a run.
Then, in the “Promised Eighth,” the tide turned. After three consecutive hits and a sacrifice fly by Kim Dong-heon cut the deficit to 3-5, Lim Ji-yeol’s mid-month home run with two outs threw cold water on the Lotte supporters’ seats.
Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome, which had previously been filled with Lotte chants that could be confused with Busan’s Sajik Stadium, was suddenly filled with Kiwoom chants.
■ LG moves to within one game of second-place SSG after two days off due to rain
The LG Twins have reached 30 wins for the season.
LG won 7-1 against the visiting Kia Tigers at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 28th.
With 30 wins, one draw and 16 losses, LG extended its lead atop the standings to one game over second-place SSG Landers, who had two days off due to rain.
LG right-hander Lim Chan-kyu, who is having his best year in his 13th year with the club by improving his control of his pitches, limited the KIA bats to four hits over seven innings and pitched a complete game shutout to earn his fifth win of the season. It was his first start against KIA in two years and nine months.
Lim lowered his ERA from 2.33 to 1.97 and will likely move into the top 10 in that category after his next outing.
KIA was unable to capitalise on a disappointing pitching performance from starter Sean Anderson and an error by the outfield that failed to help Anderson.
LG opened the scoring in the top of the first inning with a golden opportunity after Hong Chang-ki singled to left, an error by KIA third baseman Byun Woo-hyuk and a walk by Moon Bo-kyung.
After scoring a run in the second on a double by Park Hae-min, a wild pitch by Anderson and a throwing error by KIA catcher Han Seung-taek, LG slowly widened the gap in the third on a solo home run to left by Austin Dean.
After a walk, a botched throwing error by KIA pitcher Anderson and a hit-by-pitch, LG took the lead in the fourth inning when Moon Sung-joo hit a three-run triple with the bases loaded.
Moon pulled a fastball from KIA’s Kim Dae-yoo, who was a stalwart until last year, for a three-run triple that sailed over the first base line and scored on Moon Bo-kyung’s single to right.
KIA avoided the shutout with a home run by pinch-hitter Lee Woo-sung in the bottom of the ninth.
■ Samsung escapes three-game losing streak behind Koo’s three-hit blast, Won Tae-in’s three-run homer
The Samsung Lions snapped a three-game losing streak with a 6-4 victory over the KT Wiz at home in Daegu.
Samsung took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Lee Jae-hyun and a two-run double to right-centre by leadoff hitter Koo Ja-ook.
After Kang Min-ho made it 4-0 with a solo home run in the third, Koo exploded once more in the fourth.
With one out and two on, he hit another double, this time to right-centre, sending Kang home. He scored when Jose Pirela singled to left.
Koo finished with two doubles and three RBIs.
KT starter Bo Schuler gave up six runs on eight hits, including one home run, in 3 1/3 innings to suffer his worst loss of the season (1-7).
Samsung’s Won Tae-in, who struck out pinch-hitter Moon Sang-chul with the bases loaded in the fifth inning, pitched six innings of three-hit ball to earn his third win (3-3).
KT pulled within four runs in the top of the ninth, including a three-run homer by Lee Ho-yeon off Oh Seung-hwan, but ran out of outs.
The SSG Landers-Dusan Bears (Jamsil Stadium, Seoul) and Hanwha Eagles-NC Dinos (Changwon NC Park) games were cancelled due to rain.
The 27 games cancelled this year due to rain and fine dust will be rescheduled at a later date.