LG's Comeback 'Im Chan-gyu's 3rd PS Win'... Samsung's Power Hitters Dull at Jamsil

by Park Pyunghee

Published 17 Oct.2024 21:29(KST)

Im Chan-kyu 5.1 Scoreless Innings... Hernandez Closes

With the Samsung Lions trailing 0-1 in the top of the 6th inning with one out and no runners on base, Samsung's No. 3 batter Yoon Jung-bin swung boldly at the fourth pitch, a 149 km/h fastball from LG's second pitcher Hernandez. The ball was hit so hard that it seemed like a game-tying hit the moment it connected. However, LG right fielder Hong Chang-gi leaned against the fence, jumped slightly, and stretched out his right hand to catch the ball. In the spacious Jamsil Baseball Stadium, Samsung's big hits were muted, and LG succeeded in their counterattack.

Professional baseball team LG Twins won 1-0 against the Samsung Lions in the third game of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO Postseason Playoff held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 17th. LG, who had been pushed to the brink with two consecutive losses, secured a precious first victory.

Samsung, who hit the most home runs in this year's KBO League, also unleashed eight home runs in the first two games held at home. In the first game, six of the 10 runs scored came from three home runs. In the second game, five home runs produced seven of the total 10 runs. However, in the third game moved to the spacious Jamsil Stadium, Samsung's big hits were quiet. They managed only five hits scattered and suffered a shutout defeat.

The MVP of the quarterfinals, Lim Chan-kyu, was the key contributor to LG's victory. Lim pitched excellently with 5.1 innings, allowing 3 hits, 1 walk, striking out 4, and giving up no runs.

LG starting pitcher Lim Chan-kyu responded to the crowd's cheers as he left the mound after pitching scoreless innings until one out in the top of the 6th inning in the third game of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO Postseason Playoff against the Samsung Lions at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 17th.
Photo by Yonhap News

Lim showed a strong start by retiring eight consecutive batters after the game began. In the top of the 4th inning, he allowed two hits and faced a 2-out, runners on first and third situation but overcame the crisis by striking out Kang Min-ho.

In the top of the 6th inning, Lim retired Samsung's No. 2 batter Kim Heon-gon with a fly out to left field and then handed the mound over to Hernandez.

Hernandez shut down the remaining 3.2 innings, allowing 2 hits, 1 walk, striking out 5, and giving up no runs, completing the team's shutout victory.

Although LG secured the win, their offense was frustrating. Up to the 4th inning, the leadoff batter reached base three times but was repeatedly caught stealing, failing to score.

In the 5th inning, LG finally scored the winning run. Leadoff batter No. 7 Park Dong-won earned a walk, No. 8 Park Hae-min successfully executed a sacrifice bunt, and with one out and runners on first and third, No. 1 Hong Chang-gi hit a sacrifice fly to bring in the winning run.

For LG, Moon Sung-joo recorded two hits, while Hong Chang-gi, Kim Hyun-soo, and Moon Bo-kyung each had one hit.