The Samsung Lions and Lotte Giants played a tightly contested game on September 2 at Daegu Samsung Lions Park.
Lotte tied the game at 2-2 with consecutive home runs by Ko Seung-min, but Samsung moved ahead again with its midgame focus.
The decisive moment came in the bottom of the 6th, when Kim Ji-chan hit a bases-clearing triple.
3-line summary
1. Samsung defeated Lotte 8-5.
2. Samsung scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 6th alone.
3. After the tie, one inning of focused offense made the difference.
Lotte answered with two home runs by Ko Seung-min
Samsung scored 2 runs first in the bottom of the 1st, following Kim Ji-chan’s double and RBI hits by Kim Seong-yoon and Choi Hyung-woo. Lotte pulled within one run in the top of the 2nd on Ko Seung-min’s solo home run, and Ko Seung-min hit another solo home run in the top of the 4th to tie the game at 2-2.
Ko Seung-min went 3-for-4 with 2 home runs, 2 RBIs, and 3 runs scored that day. Given that Lotte restored the game to even with two early home runs, this was not a game that was easily decided by the final score alone. In particular, the second home run came with 2 outs and the bases empty, once again evening the game against Samsung starter Choi Won-tae.
Choi Won-tae allowed two home runs to Ko Seung-min but held the mound for 6 innings, allowing 4 hits, recording 10 strikeouts, and giving up 2 runs. Newsis reported that Choi Won-tae earned his 6th win of the season with this victory. Lotte starter Park Se-woong allowed 7 runs over 5⅔ innings. Although he reached 1600 innings in his professional career and recorded triple-digit strikeouts for 7 consecutive seasons, he could not avoid the loss.
Samsung extended its lead to 8-2 after Kim Ji-chan’s triple
Samsung regained a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 5th on Kim Seong-yoon’s RBI single. In the bottom of the 6th, Samsung added runs on a double by Lewin Diaz and hits by Ryu Ji-hyeok and Kang Min-ho, then Kim Ji-chan hit a triple that brought all the runners home with 2 outs and the bases loaded. After a wild pitch as well, Samsung added 5 runs in the inning to pull ahead 8-2.
Kim Ji-chan went 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored, while Kim Seong-yoon went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Reports by the Hankyoreh and the Yeongnam Ilbo said the big scoring inning in the bottom of the 6th sharply changed the flow of the game. After taking an early lead in the 1st, retaking the lead in the 5th, and scoring heavily in the 6th, Samsung immediately counterattacked after the game was tied.
Lotte mounted a comeback in the top of the 8th with a 2-RBI single by Reyes after a hit by Park Geon-woo and a double by Na Seung-yeop. In the top of the 9th, Lotte scored one more run on Ko Seung-min’s double and Jang Du-seong’s RBI single, but could not overturn the deficit. Samsung closer Kim Jae-yoon entered in the 9th and finished the game, recording his 31st save of the season.
This game marked Samsung’s 7-game winning streak and Lotte’s 6-game losing streak. Even after Lotte tied the game with home runs, Samsung regained the lead in its next at-bat and did not squander its one bases-loaded opportunity in the 6th.
References
Tags #LottevsSamsung #SamsungLions #LotteGiants #KBOLeague #ProfessionalBaseball #DaeguSamsungLionsPark #KimJi-chan #KoSeung-min #ChoiWon-tae #KimSeong-yoon #KimJae-yoon #Samsung7-GameWinningStreak #Lotte6-GameLosingStreak