Busan: The LG Twins rallied from a five-run deficit to defeat the Lotte Giants for their fourth consecutive win in the Korea Baseball Organization. Moon Jeong-bin delivered a pinch-hit, go-ahead triple in the top of the seventh inning at Sajik Baseball Stadium, as the Twins prevailed in a game in which they once trailed 6-1.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Twins improved to 30-19-0 (wins-losses-ties), becoming the first team to reach 30 wins this year. The Giants fell to 19-28-1. After starter Yonny Chirinos was charged with six earned runs in 3 2/3 innings, five LG relievers kept the Giants off the board the rest of the way.
The teams traded jabs for the first four innings, with the Twins landing the first punch in the top of the first inning. After Hong Chang-ki led off the game with a single off starter Na Gyun-an and advanced to second on a groundout, Austin Dean drove him home with a double for a 1-0 lead. The Giants responded in the bottom first, as Go Seung-min's double scored leadoff man Jang Du-seong, who had started the inning with an infield single and taken second base on a throwing error by shortstop Oh Ji-hwan.
Three batters later, Jeon Jun-woo's sacrifice fly scored the go-ahead run for the Giants. The Giants then put up a four-spot on two homers off Chirinos in the bottom second. First, it was Kim Dong-hyun's solo shot for his first career homer. Chirinos promptly gave up a walk and a single. The Venezuelan right-hander seemed to settle down by striking out the next two, but then his countryman Victor Reyes blasted a three-run shot to right field that pushed the Giants' lead to 6-1.
The Twins refused to go down so easily. After a couple of singles put runners at the corners, Cheon Seong-ho's groundout cashed in a run. Then Park Dong-won hit a two-run home run that cut the Giants' lead to 6-4 -- his second home run in two days. The Twins then moved within a run in the top fourth, courtesy of Park Hae-min's sacrifice fly. They completed their comeback with three big runs in the top seventh.
With two outs and two men aboard, Moon came off the bench to triple off the wall in right field and bring both runners home for a 7-6 Twins lead. Two batters later, Gu Bon-hyeok's infield single pushed the Twins' lead to 8-6. The Giants threatened in the bottom seventh by putting two runners on against reliever Kim Yun-sik, who struck out pinch hitter Yoo Kang-nam to keep the Twins up by two.
Out of the Twins' bullpen, Kim Jin-sung tossed a perfect eighth inning before closer Son Ju-young followed with a scoreless ninth for the save. Go Seung-min led off the ninth with a single that trickled into the foul territory in left but he was tagged out trying to stretch it to a double. The Giants outhit the Twins 12-11.