A DOUBLE IS CALLED FOR A GROUNDER, LG CONSOLIDATES TOP SPOT WITH A LUCKY SIXTH STRAIGHT WIN

The top-ranked LG Twins rode their luck to a six-game winning streak .Austin Dean’s two-run homer gave LG a 2-1 victory over the visiting SSG Landers in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on 21 November. With the win, LG extended its winning streak to six games and maintained a 6.5-game lead over second-place KT Wiz. LG managed just two hits, but got lucky with a solid mound performance to secure the one-run victory. LG got on the board in the first inning when leadoff hitter Hong Chang-ki drew a walk, and two batters later, Austin Dean hit a two-run home run to centre field.SSG had more chances than LG, but they were unable to capitalise .In the bottom of the eighth, Choi Jeong-jeong’s double and two walks loaded the bases. Park Sung-eun, who came to bat with a chance to tie the game, hit a bullet of a pitch, but the ball hit the first baseman’s glove and fell to the umpire .Video review ruled it a fair ball, but the runner at first base, Han Yoo-seom, was tagged out because he stopped instead of running to second base .Park’s hit would have been a double if it hadn’t hit the umpire, allowing SSG to at least hope for a tie. Unsatisfied with the video review, SSG head coach Kim Won-hyung protested strongly and received an automatic ejection .In the confusion, a runner scored from third base, but SSG was unable to capitalise on the ensuing double play and lost the game by one run .LG starter Casey Kelly pitched six innings of four-hit ball to earn the win. SSG’s second pitcher in the top of the third, Roenis Elias, pitched seven innings of one-hit ball with four strikeouts, but was not awarded the win .In Daejeon, the Hanwha Eagles defeated the road-bound KIA Tigers 14-8.Sixth-ranked KIA fell to a shocking seventh straight loss after failing to capitalise on two early runs. After scoring two runs in the top of the first inning on a triple by Kim Do-young and a double by Choi Hyung-woo, KIA took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second on a solo home run by Kim Kyu-sung. However, in the bottom of the second inning, Lee’s hopes were dashed .Lee, who was making his first appearance in 12 days due to a finger injury, struck out three straight batters in the first inning, but his pitches suddenly became shaky in the second, allowing five runs (four earned) on two hits and three wild pitches before being pulled after just 1⅓ innings .KIA scored a run in the top of the third on an RBI single by Socrates Brito to cut the deficit to 4-5.However, Hanwha extended its lead with a two-run homer by Chae Eun-sung in the bottom of the third and then scored twice in the fourth to take a 9-4 lead. In the bottom of the eighth inning, they added four more runs, including a two-run double by Nick Williams to make it 10-4.In Suwon, KT WIZ swept the Lotte Giants 5-0 to stay in second place. KT scored the first two runs in the bottom of the third inning on an infield single by Park Byung-ho and a wild pitch, then Anthony Alford hit a two-run double to centre to make it 3-0.In the fifth inning, with two on and one out, Alford blasted a two-run homer to left field to make it 5-0.Lotte held an 8-7 advantage in hits, but couldn’t capitalise on the extra-base hits. KT starter Choi Byeol-seong earned the win, allowing six hits and no runs on seven scattered hits with six strikeouts .Lotte’s Na Kyun-an took the loss after giving up six runs (two earned) on six hits in five innings with a fielding error .With their second straight win, second-place KT moved within two games of third-place NC Dinos, who lost on the day.In Daegu, the Doosan Bears defeated the Samsung Lions 5-1.Doosan scored the first two runs of the game in the top of the first inning on a single by Kim Jae-hwan and a subsequent ground ball. Samsung got one back in the bottom of the inning when Jose Pirela singled to left and came home on a sacrifice bunt and subsequent grounder .However, Doosan made it 3-1 in the top of the fifth inning when Cho Su-hyung advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch before scoring on Jung Soo-bin’s single up the middle .In the sixth, Yang hit a solo home run, and Doosan added a run in the top of the ninth on a triple by Jung Soo-bin. At the Gocheok Dome, the Kiwoom Heroes came from behind to beat the NC Dinos 5-1.NC took a 1-0 lead in the top of the eighth inning when Kim Hyung-joon blasted a solo home run after a scoreless streak. However, Kiwoom answered in the bottom of the eighth when Kim Hye-sung led off with a triple and Ronnie Dawson followed with a single to left to 안전놀이터 make it 1-1.With the bases loaded and nobody out, Kim Ji-yeol hit a two-run double to score Lim to make it 5-1.

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