The NC Dinos snapped the LG Twins’ seven-game winning streak.
NC came from behind to win 5-4 against LG in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on April 22. The third-place NC put more pressure on the second-place KT Wiz with a season record of 67 wins, 54 losses, and 2 draws, while the leading LG ended its six-game winning streak and improved its season record to 76 wins, 48 losses, and 2 draws.
Starting lineup
NC: Son Asub (designated hitter)-Seo Ho-cheol (third baseman)-Park Gun-woo (right fielder)-James Martin (center fielder)-Kwon Hee-dong (left fielder)-Oh Young-soo (first baseman)-Do Tae-hoon (second baseman)-Kim Ju-won (shortstop)-Ahn Jung-yeol (catcher). Starting pitcher Choi Sung-young.
LG: Hong Chang-ki (R) – Shin Min-jae (2B) – Kim Hyun-soo (designated hitter) – Austin Dean (1B) – Moon Bo-kyung (3B) – Jung Ju-hyun (shortstop) – Park Dong-won (catcher) – Lee Jae-won (left fielder) – Park Hae-min (center fielder). Starting pitcher Lee Jung-yong.
NC left-hander Koo Chang-mo had to swallow his disappointment after being cut from the national team for the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games on Wednesday. He did his best to regain his form with the goal of making it to Hangzhou, and he believes he is now ready to return. He made his first start against the KT Wiz Future team in Iksan on April 18, and completed his practice checkup well, throwing two innings of one-hit ball with 27 pitches and two strikeouts. He threw a mix of 20 fastballs, five sliders and two forkballs, and his fastball reached up to 145 kilometers.
However, the KBO Strength and Conditioning Committee, including national team manager Ryu Joong-il, looked at his pitching and said, “Although he is recovering from his injury, it is difficult for him to show his normal performance during the tournament.”
NC coach Kang In-hwa believes that Koo Chang-mo must have been disappointed, even if he didn’t show it outwardly. He hoped that she would be able to deal with her disappointment and come back stronger for the team’s fall baseball season. For the time being, she was expected to help out in the bullpen and work her way into the starting rotation in the first week of October.
Koo proved his health by coming on in relief with runners on second and third in the bottom of the third inning with NC trailing 3-4. He pitched 2 1/3 innings, allowing one hit on 39 pitches with one walk and one strikeout. It was his comeback game after waiting 112 days since June 2 against the Jamsil LG Electronics, and his first relief appearance in 1063 days since October 24, 2020 against the Changwon LG Electronics, and he performed flawlessly.
He threw a mix of fastballs (21), sliders (11), forkballs (6), and curves (1). His fastball topped out at 146 kilometers per hour, while his slider sat between 129 and 136 kilometers per hour and his forkball between 129 and 133 kilometers per hour.
After NC starter Choi Sung-young was knocked around for four runs (three earned) in 2⅔ innings, Koo Chang-mo answered the call. With runners on first and second in the bottom of the third inning, he quickly stemmed the tide for LG. Koo induced the first batter, Park Dong-won, to ground out to shortstop to prevent further damage. In the bottom of the fourth, he gave up a single to Hong Chang-ki, but retired the next batter, Shin Min-jae, on a swinging strikeout. It was his first strikeout since his comeback.
He kept the LG bats in check until the bottom of the fifth. He walked Austin with one out, but got Moon Bok-kyung to pop out to second base to end the inning.
The game was a seesaw affair from the start. In the top of the first inning, Son As-seop led off with a single to the right side of the infield. When Seo Ho-cheol singled to left field, Son advanced to second, and Park Gun-woo hit a single to left-center to give NC a 1-0 lead.
LG answered right back. In the bottom of the first inning, Hong Chang-ki led off with a double to left field. When Shin Min-jae tried to lay down a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Choi Sung-young made a throwing error at first base, allowing Hong Chang-ki to score and the speedy pinch runner to advance to third. With the bases loaded, Kim Hyun-soo hit a sacrifice fly to left field to make it 1-2. 안전토토사이트
In the top of the second, NC immediately turned the tide. Two batters later, Kim Joo-won walked and stole second base to rattle LG starter Lee Jung-yong. The next batter, Ahn Jung-yeol and Son As-seob drew back-to-back walks to load the bases, and Seo Ho-cheol hit a two-run double to left center field to make it 3-2.
Choi Sung-young was shaken up in the bottom of the third. Hong Chang-ki, Austin, and Moon Bo-kyung walked to load the bases. LG quickly brought in a pinch-hitter in Jung Ju-hyun, and Kim Min-sung hit a two-run double to center field to make it 3-4.
Park Gun-woo tied the game again in the top of the fifth inning. Son As-seob led off with a double to the right side of the infield, and Seo Ho-cheol followed with a sacrifice bunt to put runners on first and second. Park then hit a timely double down the left field line to tie the game at 4-4.
The tense balance was broken in the top of the ninth. Kim Hyung-joon led off the inning with a single to right field. He moved to second on a wild pitch by Ko Woo-seok, and two batters later, Seo Ho-cheol singled to right field to keep NC in the game.
A normal defense would have put runners on second and third, but Kim Hyung-joon rounded third base and ran home. He wasn’t fast enough and LG’s replay was good enough to tag him out at home. However, first baseman Austin’s throw to the plate went behind home plate, giving Kim time to rush home. He was able to tag out Seo Ho-cheol, the runner heading for second base, to prevent further damage, but it was a costly mistake for LG.
NC did not falter and secured the win. After Koo Chang-mo, Kim Si-hoon (⅔ innings), Ha Jun-young (⅓ innings), Ryu Jin-wook (1 inning), Lim Jung-ho (1 inning), and Lee Yong-chan (1 inning) pitched a scoreless relay. 바카라사이트
LG manager Yoon Kyung-yeop opted to use his bullpen as sparingly as possible on this day. Starter Lee Jung-yong went five innings and 71 pitches, allowing four runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts. He could have gone longer based on his pitch count, but he opted to use his second starter, Kim Yoon-sik, in a must-win strategy.
Kim Yun-sik lived up to Yeom’s expectations. He pitched 2⅔ innings of 48 pitches with one hit, one walk, and three strikeouts, and then brought in closer Go Woo-seok, who took the loss after pitching 1⅓ innings of 2 hits, one walk, and one run (unearned) due to a combination of wild pitches and errors.