23rd lost 6-7 in Sajik Kiwoom game
Lee In-bok gives up four runs on six hits in four innings
Gave up a big lead in the third inning
Bounced back with four runs in the fourth to make it a big inning
But gave up a run in the fifth inning with the bases loaded
Extended to 6-6 after 86 minutes of rain delay
Song Sung-moon scored the winning run in the 10th inning
The Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) 바카라사이트 have lost their first series of the second half of the season in a gruelling six-hour, 10-minute battle. Lotte had no laughing matter after manager Larry Sutton was removed with the bases loaded in the fifth inning and the game was suspended for 86 minutes due to heavy rain.
Lotte lost 6-7 against Kiwoom at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 23rd. After winning the first game of the second half of the season on the 21st, Lotte lost the next two games in a row.
Yoon Dong-hee of the Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) defends against Kiwoom at Sajik Stadium in Busan on 23 March. Courtesy of the Lotte Giants
The Giants gave up three runs in the third inning to set the tone. In the top of the third, LOTTE starter Lee In-bok gave up a leadoff single to Lee Ji-young and then laid down a sacrifice bunt to Lee Yong-gyu. Initially, Lee was ruled out for fielding interference at three feet, but the call was overturned on video review. Kim Hye-sung followed with a sacrifice fly to bring home Lee Ji-young. Kiwoom’s newest hitter, Dawson, followed with a two-run double, and Lotte fell behind 0-3.
LOTTE broke the silence in the fourth inning and came back with a big inning. Ahn Chi-hong opened the inning by drawing a walk off Kiwoom starter Choi Won-tae. After Lee Jung-hoon singled to put runners on first and third, Lotte took the lead with a single by Han Dong-hee. Lotte then scored four runs in quick succession with three consecutive hits.
Niko Goodrum, the new foreign pitcher for the Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), defends against Kiwoom at Sajik Stadium in Busan on 23 March. Courtesy of the Lotte Giants
Lotte had the bases loaded in the fifth inning, but did not allow the tying run to score. In the top of the fifth, Lee In-bok gave up a leadoff single to Lee Yong-kyu and then walked Kim Hye-sung. After rushing Lee In-bok off the mound with runners on first and second, Lotte turned to its bullpen. The first reliever was Shim Jae-min. However, Shim gave up a straight grounder to Dawson, leaving the bases loaded.
Yoo Kang-nam of the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization bats against the Kiwoom at Sajik Stadium in Busan on 23 March. Courtesy of the Lotte Giants
After Shim Jae-min was pulled without recording a single out, Lotte turned to Han Hyun-hee. At the same time, Lotte manager Larry Sutton was ejected from the game. It was for protesting a ball call. It was the sixth time a manager was ejected this season, but it was the first time Sutton was ejected for protesting an umpire’s decision rather than a video review.
Han Hyun-hee pitched well in a situation where the manager was also ejected with no outs. After retiring the first batter, Lee Won-seok, on a full count, she gave up a tying sacrifice to Lee Yong-gyu, but struck out the next batter, Kim Gun-hee. The two teams were tied at 4-4.
Han Hyun-hee, who took the mound in the sixth inning, gave up an infield single to Joo Sung-won and a walk to Lee Ji-young to put runners on first and second, and was eventually replaced by Koo Seung-min at the plate.
Larry Sutton, manager of the Lotte Giants of the South Korean baseball team, protests against a ball call during their game against Kiwoom at Sajik Stadium in Busan on Wednesday. Courtesy of the Lotte Giants
As soon as Koo Seung-min took the mound, the game was suspended due to heavy rain and resumed after 86 minutes. It was the longest rain delay in the history of Sajik Stadium. The longest suspension in KBO history was 116 minutes on 16 August 1987 when the Samsung Lions played the Binggrae Eagles.
After the resumption, Koo Seung-min struck out the first batter, Lee Yong-kyu, and then got Kim Hye-sung to ground out to end the sixth inning. Lee Yong-kyu, in particular, was ejected for loudly protesting an umpire’s call on a ball. Sutton’s ejection was the first of two ejections in the game, and the atmosphere was chaotic throughout the game.
Han Hyun-hee of the Lotte Giants of the Korean baseball league throws a ball in relief against Kiwoom at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 23rd. Courtesy of the Lotte Giants
In the seventh inning, Lotte’s fifth pitcher, Kim Sang-soo, entered with the bases loaded and no outs. He allowed leadoff singles to Dawson, Song Sung-moon, and Lee Hyung-jong to load the bases, but struck out Kim Soo-hwan and Lim Byung-wook in succession to end the threat. Kim Sang-soo has pitched three straight games since the 21st, the first game of the second half.
In the eighth inning, both teams scored two runs each to tie the game again. Lotte’s sixth pitcher Choi Jun-yong gave up a leadoff single to Kim Dong-heon, a walk to Kim Jun-wan and a single to Kim Hye-sung to load the bases. Dawson’s grounder to second base tagged out Kim Hye-sung, who was running for second, to load the bases, but Choi gave up another single to Lee Won-seok. He then gave up a two-run double to Song Sung-moon, leaving Lotte trailing 4-6.
Lotte began to rally. In the bottom of the eighth inning, leadoff hitter Gudrum walked and Jeon Jun-woo “Jeon Tran” hit a two-run home run to left field, tying the game at 6-6.
Baseball’s Lotte Giants’ Kim Min-seok hits a game-winning single against the Kiwoom at Sajik Stadium in Busan on Wednesday. Courtesy of the Lotte Giants
After Lotte’s “long-haired closer” Kim Won-joong got out of a bases-loaded jam with a strikeout in the top of the ninth, the Giants retired all three batters they faced in the bottom of the ninth, including pinch-hitter Noh Jin-hyuk, sending the game into extra innings.
Kim Won-joong, who also took the mound in the 10th, gave up a double to Dawson and then walked Lee Won-seok. However, Song Sung-moon gave up an RBI single to give Lotte the lead. In the bottom of the 10th, LOTTE had runners on second and third after Gudrum drew a leadoff walk and Han Dong-hee reached first on a throwing error by the shortstop, but Park Seung-wook grounded out to end the game 6-7 and LOTTE’s loss.
