The clash between two of the top teams in Korean professional baseball heated up the summer night in Busan. The goddess of victory smiled on the team that scored the last run.
On the 3rd, Sajik Stadium in Busan. Lotte won the seventh game of the season against the KIA Tigers in a dramatic 6-5 victory, led by Noh Jin-hyuk’s game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth inning.
The ‘Bomde’ teasing is a thing of the past. The heat of June has finally arrived, but Lotte is still in a top-three battle with the LG Twins and SSG Landers. The team is calmly chasing the two teams. Unlike in previous years, the team is strong in competitive games.
In this game, the ‘April MVP’ Na Gyun-ahn gave up three runs in the first inning. However, he went on to shut down the KIA bats without allowing an earned run, marking his fourth consecutive quality start (6+ innings and 3 earned runs or less).
Lotte starter Na Kyun-ahn gave KIA the lead in the top of the second inning. He gave up a leadoff double to Choi Hyung-woo, and a single by Ko Jong-wook and a walk to Lee Woo-sung loaded the bases.
There was an uncharacteristic shakeup. He gave up a walk to Kim Seok-hwan, followed by a sacrifice fly by Shin Bum-soo and a single by Ryu Ji-hyuk to make it 0-3.
Na Gyun-ahn’s composure as a native ace was remarkable. He retired three batters in the third through fifth innings and held on to the lead until the sixth. It was his fourth straight quality start.
The Lotte bats didn’t have much of a chance until the third inning, when they were caught in the middle of KIA starter Medina’s fastball. A bases-loaded 먹튀검증 walk in the bottom of the fourth inning was canceled out by an error. The rally was stymied by the opposition’s constant rain.
But with the mound holding up, the bats came alive. They took advantage of their opponent’s mistake.
The captain’s calm judgment was a wake-up call for the batsmen. He boldly replaced Han Dong-hee, who had blown his first chance to score a run, with a single in the second inning, and the bats turned the tide.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Jeon Jun-woo doubled to left-center, but there was a miscommunication in the KIA outfield. It dropped between Kim Ho-ryung in center field and Lee Woo-sung in left field. KIA’s Medina, who had pitched a scoreless fifth inning, was replaced after a walk. With runners on second and third, Ko Seung-min, who replaced Han Dong-hee, drew a walk and Yoo Kang-nam followed with a two-run double down the right field line.
Against KIA’s left-handed reliever Lee Jun-young, veteran Jung Hoon came in for “resignation idol” Kim Min-seok. Jung Hoon turned the resignation into a frenzy with a three-run double.
Two batters later, Lotte closer Koo Seung-min gave up three straight hits to KIA rookie Ryu Ji-hyuk and Park Chan-ho to tie the game again at 4-4. Lotte took the lead again in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single by Ahn Chi-hong, but gave up another tying run to KIA’s Lee Chang-jin in the top of the eighth. With the bases loaded, Lotte brought in closer Kim Won-joong early to put out the fire. Lee Chang-jin sent the away fans into a frenzy in the bottom of the eighth when he caught Hwang Sung-bin’s decisive hit.
But it was Lotte who had the last laugh. In the bottom of the ninth, leadoff hitter Park Seung-wook drew a walk against KIA’s Choi Ji-min and stole second base. Jeon Jun-woo followed with a walk to Ahn Chi-hong.
A foul home run by Yoon Dong-hee briefly held everyone’s breath, but it turned out to be a strikeout. But the next batter, Noh Jin-hyuk, hit a grand slam over the top of the right field fence to end the game.