Seoul: With his first hit as a pinch hitter this season Thursday, LG Twins catcher Park Dong-won helped his club stay at the top of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) standings. The Hanwha Eagles are breathing down their neck, sitting only a half game back in second place, after also winning their game Thursday, and the two rival clubs are headed for a highly anticipated weekend series starting Friday. And Park can’t wait to face them.
According to Yonhap News Agency, “The Hanwha Eagles just don’t lose,” Park said with exasperated laughter, after the Twins beat the SSG Landers 8-6 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, a few minutes after the Eagles edged out the Doosan Bears 3-2 for their third straight win. The Twins are now 40-26-1 (wins-losses-ties), and the Eagles improved to 40-27-0 as they get ready to host the Twins in Daejeon, some 140 kilometers south of Seoul.
“They are such a great team. And it’s really hard to stay in first place,” Park added. “We have to be really prepared against them. Hopefully, we will play some good games down there and pull away from them a little bit.”
Park was held out of the starting lineup for the second consecutive game Thursday with a bad ankle. But after the Twins tied the score at 3-3 in the fifth inning, Park was summoned with runners at second and third. Park then sent a towering double off the wall in right center to bring home both runners for a 5-3 lead. The Twins didn’t relinquish their advantage the rest of the way.
“I was trying to stay ready from the beginning of the game,” Park said. “At some point, I became a little too passive at the plate, and that’s really not how I play. So I wanted to be aggressive and swing the bat with confidence today.”
As happy as he was with his clutch hit, Park said he was even more pleased with the effort of his relievers. After starter Yonny Chirinos gave up four runs in 5 2/3 innings, three relievers held the Landers to two runs in 3 1/3 innings.
“Our relievers did a great job preserving this win,” Park said. “I want to thank them for their work today.”
Lee Ji-gang, the second pitcher out of the bullpen, struck out four of the five batters he faced. Park said Lee had everything working in this game, especially the curveball. “He’s been doing some dirty work in tough spots this season,” Park said of the right-hander. “He is an essential part of our bullpen. He always gives us a chance to win.”
Park also came to the defense of Park Myung-geun, who allowed two runs in the top ninth. Park Myung-geun didn’t give up any run in his first 13 innings of the season but has been more up and down lately. “If he hadn’t pitched that well earlier in the year, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” the catcher said. “No one can maintain a zero ERA for the season. I just think he has been a bit unlucky and he’s going to turn it around soon.”