Yoo Young-chan's 3rd run in the 8th inning → Jung Hae-young's 4th run in the 9th inning is a sign of the hot season.
Jul 22, 2025
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The first game of a crucial three-game series between second and fourth by a 2.5 game margin. Both top-tier finishes collapsed, and the game went into an unknown fog.
This happened in the Gwangju game between the LG Twins and the KIA Tigers on the 22nd.
The selection fight was fun. KIA starter James Nail had six hits and seven strikeouts in seven innings, but it was a big pain to be hit by Moon Bo-kyung and allowed four runs (three earned runs).
LG's fifth starter Song Seung-ki also hit a home run by Choi Hyung-woo, but the hit was not big because it was a solo shot. He allowed five hits, three strikeouts, and one run in six innings.
Song Seung-ki is ahead in the selection fight and has the winning requirements.
LG finished well in the bottom of the seventh inning with Kim Jin-sung coming up and three outs, and KIA was on the verge of two outs and first and second base with Choi Ji-min's hit and walk in the top of the eighth inning, but struck out Park Dong-won and handed him over to the bottom of the eighth inning by 1-4, 3-point difference.
LG's second must-win group Lee Jung-yong came up. But here, KIA's batting lineup gained strength. The lead Kim Sun-bin's walk and Choi Hyung-woo's double on the right-field line created chances for second and third bases. Na Sung-bum got on base with a hit ball and loaded the bases with one out.
In the end, LG called out closer Yoo Young-chan, the most trusted pitcher.
The first opponent was pinch hitter Ko Jong-wook, who replaced Lee Woo-sung. However, Ko Jong-wook's hit bent to the left and became a hit that Kim Hyun-soo, who ran hard, could not catch. The runners on the second and third bases hit home, making it 3-4, a point difference. With one out and runners on the first and third bases, Oh Sun-woo took a walk after a full count match and had a chance to load the bases again. Han Jun-su, a pinch hitter who replaced Kim Tae-gun, hit a two-run double on the right-field line in 3B1S to make the turnaround 5-4. Kim Ho-ryeong's hit then became a hit that fell in front of center fielder Park Hae-min, who sprinted 6-4.
In the end, LG replaced the pitcher with Jang Hyun-sik. Park Chan-ho's left-handed hit scored one more point to lead 7-4.
LG eventually changed the pitcher to Jang Hyun-sik, but KIA scored another point due to Park Chan-ho's left-handed hit, leading 7-4, three points.
LG's offense began in the top of the ninth inning, and of course, KIA's closer Jung Hae-young came up. He made 25 saves on the day, chasing KT Wiz Park Young-hyun, who has 26 saves, by one stroke.
It seemed that Jung Hae-young could easily finish it, but the baseball was round and the result should not be expected prematurely until the end.
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However, Park Hae-min had no hits in the second half. He had no hits in eight at-bats in the previous three consecutive games against Lotte, and had no hits in three at-bats before taking the batter's box in the top of the ninth inning, totaling 11 at-bats. Who would have imagined that he would hit a home run.
Jung Hae-young's fastball in the middle of the 146km first pitch was rolled up and he hit a tiebreaking three-run home run over the right fence. It was a 7-7 tie at once.
It wasn't over. Koo Bon-hyuk also hit a heavy hit, eventually replacing the pitcher with Cho Sang-woo.
But even Jo Sang-woo was shaken. Kim Hyun-soo hit a right-handed hit in the first and second bases with one out, which was made by Moon Sung-joo's left-handed hit, leading LG to come from behind 8-7 again. Moon Bo-kyung hit a double play in front of the second baseman, and shortstop Park Chan-ho, who caught the ball at second base, made a bad pitch to first base, so second baseman Moon Sung-joo homered and made it 9-7.
Lee Ji-gang, who came up in the bottom of the ninth inning, allowed a hit to the leadoff hitter Choi Hyung-woo, but he later hit all three batters and put the storm to rest in the 8th and 9th innings.
It is a difficult scene to see the two most trusted teams collapse at once. It's not easy to see it as a result of physical strength because I had quite a break from the All-Star break. Instead, it may not have been easy to control your condition due to the heat. As the heat wave is likely to continue until August, a difficult situation for pitchers may continue and an unexpected hitting season seems to have begun.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
