LG snaps three-game losing streak with hard-fought win over Hanwha.
LG won a 13-7 road game against Hanwha in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on Nov. 11. Moon Bo-kyung had the game of her life with her first career grand slam and seven RBIs, while Kim Hyun-soo paced the resurgence with three hits and one RBI. Starter Casey Kelly was pulled early after giving up six runs in 1⅔ innings, but seven bullpen arms combined for 7⅓ innings of one-run ball to seal the win.
LG, which was on the verge of a three-game sweep after losing back-to-back games to Hanwha on Sept. 9-10, held on for the final game to avoid the sweep. Second-place LG, which recently snapped a three-game losing streak, improved to 34W23L2D and moved to within 1.5 games of first-place SSG (35W21L1D), which lost its third straight in Changwon NC. No. 10 Hanwha, which ended its two-game winning streak, is 21W33L3D.
LG scored four runs off Hanwha starter Jang Min-jae in the top of the first inning. In the bottom of the first, Shin Min-jae’s grounder was misplayed by Hanwha third baseman Noh Si-hwan, giving LG a chance. After Kim Hyun-soo singled up the middle, Austin Dean lined a single to right field to put runners on first and third. After a wild pitch by Oh Ji-hwan, Moon Bo-kyung exploded a three-run double to left-center field, giving LG a 4-0 lead in the first inning.
Hanwha responded with a five-run inning in the bottom of the first. After Lee Jin-young walked on an eight-pitch count against LG starter Casey Kelly, Kim Tae-yeon singled to left and Noh Si-hwan doubled to left-center. A walk to Chae Eun-sung, a single to right by Kim In-hwan, a bases-loaded walk to Jung Eun-won, a single to right by Moon Hyun-bin, and a sacrifice fly to right field by Park Sang-un made it 5-4.
LG responded with a big six-run inning in the top of the second to take a 10-5 lead. Hanwha immediately switched pitchers to Kim Ki-jung, but two batters later, Shin Min-jae walked, Kim Hyun-soo singled to left and Austin was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Park Dong-won’s two-run double to left, followed by Oh Ji-hwan’s grand slam. Han smashed a six-pitch, 149-kilometer fastball from Han Seung-hyuk over the left field fence, traveling 110 meters for his second home run of the season. It was his first career grand slam.
Hanwha responded in the bottom of the second inning with two runs of their own as Chae Eun-sung singled and Kim In-hwan walked to force in Kelly early. Jung Eun-won followed with an RBI single up the middle off reliever Yoo Young-chan to cut the deficit to one run. In the fifth, Moon Hyun-bin doubled to right and Lee Do-yoon walked to put runners on first and third with one out before Lee Jin-young singled up the middle.
However, LG put the game out of reach with two runs in the seventh inning. After Park Hae-min walked and Shin Min-jae singled up the middle against Hanwha reliever Kang Jae-min, Kim Hyun-soo lined a single to left field. Austin walked to load the bases and Park Dong-won drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly to left field.
Moon Bo-kyung exploded for a 2-for-7 game, including her first career grand slam, while Kim Hyun-soo went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Shin Min-jae was 2-for-3 with a walk, Park Dong-won was 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Hong Chang-ki was evenly matched with two hits and an RBI.
LG starter Kelly lasted a career-low 1⅔ innings, giving up six runs on four hits, three walks and two hit batsmen with one strikeout. But from the second inning on, the bullpen of Yoo Young-chan (1⅓ scoreless innings), Park Myung-geun (1⅔ scoreless innings), Kim Jin-sung (1 scoreless inning), Ham Deok-ju (1 scoreless inning), Jung Woo-young (1 scoreless inning), Baek Seung-hyun (!), and Ko Woo-seok (1 scoreless inning) combined for 7⅓ scoreless innings to preserve the lead.먹튀검증
For Hanwha, starter Jang Min-jae was pulled early after giving up four runs (unearned) on three hits and one walk with two strikeouts in 1 1/3 innings, while Kim Ki-joong, who came in to start the second inning, gave up five runs on two hits and three walks with one strikeout in ⅔ innings to take his first loss of the season. In the batting order, Kim Tae-yeon and Moon Hyun-bin had two hits but could not prevent the team from losing.
