Samsung’s second half is scary,
The Samsung Lions, coached by Park Jin-man, extended their winning streak to three games with a 10-6 victory over the Kiwoom Heroes in the 12th game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Tuesday. Last-place Samsung (36 wins, 52 losses and one draw) closed the gap on ninth-place Kiwoom (41 wins, 51 losses and three draws) to three games.
Samsung took an early lead in the first inning, scoring six runs in quick succession to capitalize on Jang Jae-young’s poor start. Kang Kang-ul, Koo Ja-uk, Kim Sung-yoon, and Kang Min-ho recorded multi-hit games, while Kim Hyun-jun and Ryu Ji-hyuk added two hits apiece. The Samsung bats combined for 12 hits and 11 walks on the day.
Kang Kang-ul had a multi-hit game to help Samsung win the game. Photo courtesy of Samsung Lions
On the mound, the returning Baek Jeong-hyun shined. Baek Jung-hyun, who returned to the first team 37 days after his last start against the Incheon SSG Landers on March 23, pitched 5.2 innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts and two walks to earn his fifth win of the season, 54 days after his last start against the Changwon NC Dinos on June 6. Kim Tae-hoon (4 runs (3 earned) in 1 inning) was shaky, but the rest of the bullpen did its job.
Kiwoom snapped a two-game losing streak. Jang Jae-young struggled with his pitches in the first inning. He gave up four runs on six hits and six walks in just 0.2 innings before being ejected for a walk and a head shot. At the plate, Ronnie Dawson and Song Sung-moon each had three hits and Kim Tae-jin had a multi-hit game. They rallied in the bottom half, but it wasn’t enough to pull off the upset.스포츠토토
Samsung’s lineup was Kim Hyun-jun (center field), Kim Sung-yoon (right field), Koo Ja-uk (designated hitter), Kang Min-ho (catcher), Jose Pirela (left field), Kang Han-ul (third base), Kim Dong-jin (shortstop), Ryu Ji-hyuk (first base), and Kim Ji-chan (second base).
Kiwoom’s starting lineup was Lee Hyung-jong (right fielder), Kim Hye-sung (shortstop), Ronnie Dawson (designated hitter), Lee Won-seok (first baseman), Song Sung-moon (third baseman), Lee Ju-hyung (center fielder), Park Chan-hyuk (left fielder), Lee Ji-young (catcher), and Kim Tae-jin (second baseman).
Samsung took the lead in the first inning. After the first inning, Kim Sung-yoon led off with a bunt single. He was followed by Koo Ja-rook with a single and Kang Min-ho with a walk. Pirela’s push single brought in a run, and Jang Jae-young’s walk with the bases loaded brought in another run.
Jang Jae-young had trouble with his pitches. Photo by Kim Young-gu
It didn’t end there. Kim Dong-jin struck out, but Ryu Ji-hyuk’s push ball and Kim Ji-chan’s head shot push ball brought in one more run after Jang Jae-young was retired. Kim Hyun-joon followed with a two-run double against reliever Ha Young-min, bringing in six runs in the first inning alone.
Samsung scored three more runs in the second inning. Kang Min-ho led off with a single, followed by Kang Kang-ul’s RBI single, then Ryu Ji-hyuk’s RBI single and Lee Jae-hyun’s RBI single when the shortstop made a throwing error, making the score 9-0.
Kiwoom was shut down by Baek Jeong-hyun and was unable to bring in a single run. By the fifth inning, they had four hits and a walk, but nothing came back. Even his well-hit balls were blocked by the Samsung outfielders.
Then, in the bottom of the sixth, they scored two runs. With two outs, Song Sung-moon hit an RBI single. This was followed by Lee Joo-hyung’s RBI triple. In the seventh, back-to-back RBI singles by Dawson and Lee extended the lead to 4-9. It wasn’t over. With runners on second and third, Song Sung-moon hit a two-out RBI single.
Song Sung-moon couldn’t smile after his three-hit, three-RBI game. Photo by Kim Young-gu
However, there was no upset. Woo Kyu-min came on in the eighth and finished the inning without allowing a run. In the ninth, Koo Ja-rook’s RBI single made it 10 runs. In the bottom of the ninth, Oh Seung-hwan came on. He shut down the opposing batters.