Baseball’s Kiwoom Heroes have secured the winning series with two straight wins after snapping an eight-game losing streak.
Led by head coach Hong Won-ki, Kiwoom came from behind to win 6-3 against the Lotte Giants in the regular season of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Sajik Stadium in Busan on April 1. With the victory, Kiwoom escaped a seven-game losing streak and secured the winning series with two straight wins. Winning the best-of-five series against Lotte.
Kim Jong-min pitched five innings of four-hit ball, striking out two and walking one, before the offense exploded for five runs in the seventh inning. Kim Jae-hyun led off with a double that hit the shortstop’s glove and trickled into the outfield, and Kim Hui-jip followed with a timely double over the center field fence to tie the game at 1-1.
Lee Yong-kyu was hit by a pitch and drew a walk to put runners on first and third with no outs, and Dawson followed with a single up the middle to make it 2-1. After a walk to Kim Hye-sung, Choi Joo-hwan’s pushing single scored a run, and Song Sung-moon’s grounder to second base and Lee Won-seok’s sacrifice fly to right field plated two more runs. They scored five runs in the seventh inning to take control of the game.
Lotte would make a late rally, but the bullpen did a good job of shutting them down. Kiwoom’s new closer Joo Seung-woo earned his third save of the season.
The Kiwoom bats were led by Dawson, who went 4-for-5 with two RBIs, and Kim Hwijip, who went 2-for-4 with a double, one RBI and two runs scored despite an error on defense. Kim was there to tie the game.
After the game, manager Hong Won-ki said, “Lee Jong-min did his job perfectly. He pitched five innings, so we were able to keep our momentum going. The bullpen behind him did their 토토 job as well,” said Hong.
“On offense, Kim Jae-hyun’s two-run double in the seventh inning set the tone. The batters in the bottom of the seventh were able to capitalize on the opportunity and turn it into a big inning.” ”I would like to thank the fans for their support in the cold weather at Sajik Stadium. We will prepare well for tomorrow’s game to continue the good atmosphere.”
After clinching the series, Kiwoom announced Kim In-beom as the starting pitcher for Game 2. Charlie Barnes will start for Lotte.