“Son Joo-young’s balance was shaken a lot, but his four innings were the key to our victory.”
LG Twins manager Yoon Kyung-yeop reflects on his team’s three-game losing streak.
Yoon’s team swept the NC Dinos 5-0 in a home game of the 2024 KBO regular season on Wednesday at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. The win snapped a three-game losing streak and improved LG’s record to 5 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses.
Austin Dean was the star of the show, leading LG’s offense with four hits (3-for-4, including the game-winner) and two RBIs. In the bottom of the first inning, with the score 0-0, Dean hit a grounder to shortstop and then made a head-first sliding catch to get to first base, allowing third baseman Hong Chang-ki to score the game-winning run. Park Dong-won (3-for-1, 1 home run, 2 RBIs), Moon Sung-joo (2-for-4, 2 RBIs), and Hong Chang-ki (2-for-1, 1 RBI) also provided solid support.
“We needed extra runs, and the players were able to concentrate and make extra runs to seal the victory,” said Yoon Kyung-yeop after the game.
The pitching staff was also outstanding. Starter Son Ju-young struggled to manage his pitch count (91 pitches), but he tossed four innings of three-hit, six-run ball with three strikeouts and no walks. Lee Ji-gang followed with two innings of one-hit, two-strikeout relief to secure the win, and Lee Woo-chan (one inning of scoreless relief), Park Myung-geun (one inning of scoreless relief), and Yoo Young-chan (one inning of scoreless relief) followed suit.
“Son’s balance was very shaky, but (catcher) Park Dong-won did a good job, and (Son’s) four innings were the key to our victory,” said Yoon. “Lee Ji-gang, who has been struggling lately, did his job well for two innings and we were able to keep the flow going. Seung-jo also pitched well in his innings and congratulated Ji-gang Lee on his first win.” He gave a thumbs-up.
LG’s solid defense also played a key role in the victory, especially in this 안전놀이터 game. A typical scene was in the second inning. After a walk to Seo Ho-cheol and a single to center by Park Se-hyuk put runners on first and second, NC looked like they were going to score on Seo’s single to left.
But LG had Moon Sung-joo. Playing left field on the day, he made an accurate throw to catch Seo Ho-cheol at home plate. NC requested a video review, but the call was not overturned.
“We could have lost the game in the second inning, but Moon Sung-ju’s home run allowed us to continue to control the flow of the game,” said Yoon Kyung-yeop.
In conclusion, Coach Yeom said, “Despite losing three games in a row, we were able to break the losing streak because many fans came and supported us during the week. Thank you very much,” and left the field after thanking the fans.