KIA beats SSG with 3 home runs, solidifies 5th place with Pajuk’s 7th straight win
KBO season attendance at 6.14 million…exceeds last year’s total of 6.07 million

The KIA Tigers of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) have been on an upward trend in the fall.

The Tigers, who were hovering in the mid-to-lower half of the standings at the start of the second half, are poised to change the landscape of fall baseball by winning seven straight games to solidify fifth place, as well as moving closer to the fourth-place NC Dinos by one game and the third-place SSG Landers by 2.5 games.

KIA blasted three home runs from Han Jun-soo, Na Sung-beom, and Oh Sun-woo in a 12-4 victory over SSG in their first game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Tuesday.

Riding a seven-game winning streak, KIA moved to within 2.5 games of the sixth-place Doosan Bears, whose game was canceled due to rain earlier in the day.

KIA opened the scoring in the first inning with two walks and runners on first and second, Choi Hyung-woo laced a double down the right field line and Socrates Brito followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.

In the top of the second, Hwang Dae-in walked and “backup catcher” Han Jun-soo hit a two-run homer to right field to make it 4-0.

SSG cut the deficit to 4-2 in the bottom of the third inning after Kim Sung-hyun singled and veteran catcher Lee Heung-ryun hit a two-run home run to left field.

In the bottom of the fourth, Oh Tae-gon singled up the middle and stole second, bringing in Kim Sung-hyun with a single to left to cut the deficit to one.

However, KIA regained the lead in the top of the seventh when Socrates doubled with runners on first and second and Ko Jong-wook singled to right to make it 7-3.

In the top of the eighth inning, Na Sung-bum hit a two-run homer to center field and Oh Sun-woo added a three-run shot to left field for a 9-4 KIA lead.

Na has been cannonballing for the last three games in a row, while Oh hit his first home run in three seasons.

KIA starter Yoon Young-cheol gave up three runs on seven hits in five innings, but the offense helped him get the win.

Third-place SSG suffered its third straight loss.

NC defeats Samsung for the second straight day in a rainy, close game.

NC defeated the Samsung Lions for the second consecutive day in a close game in the rain.

The NC won 5-1 against the visiting Samsung Lions at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, South Korea, on Feb. 2 behind a strong pitching performance from Lee Jae-hak and home runs by Kim Sung-wook and Park Gun-woo.

With its second straight win while the first through third-place teams all lost, fourth-place NC moved to within 1.5 games of third-place SSG Landers, which has lost three straight.

They also narrowed the gap to 3.5 games with second-place KT WIZ.

The game was suspended due to heavy rain after the end of the second inning, which was 0-0, and resumed after 1 hour and 28 minutes.

NC scored immediately after the resumption as Samsung switched pitchers from Won Tae-in to Lee Jae-ik.

In the top of the third inning, after two hits and a walk, Oh Young-soo hit a two-run double to left field to make it 2-0.

Samsung got one run back in the bottom of the fifth inning after Kim Ji-chan drew a walk and Kim Hyun-joon followed with a triple to right field.

However, NC answered in the top of the seventh inning with a solo home run to left field by leadoff hitter Kim Sung-wook to make the score 3-1.

With runners on first and third, Kim Hyung-jun lined a single to right to give NC a 4-1 lead.

In the top of the ninth inning, Park Gun-woo hit a solo shot to left field to seal the game.

NC starter Lee Jae-hak pitched five innings, allowing one run on six hits, to earn the win despite a lengthy rain delay.

Kim Sun-ki’s 6th inning surprise…Kiwoom wins 3 in a row over KT

At the Gocheok Dome, the Kiwoom Heroes defeated the KT Wiz 3-0 thanks to a surprise performance by starter Kim Sun-ki.

With their third consecutive win, the ninth-ranked Kiwoom came from behind to reach the 50-win plateau (70 losses, 3 draws).

Kim, who has been the starting pitcher since late August, pitched six innings of three-hit ball to earn his first win of the season (2-1).

Kiwoom took a 2-0 lead in the first inning after leadoff hitter Kim Tae-jin drew an infield single and two walks, followed by Song Sung-moon’s sacrifice fly to left field and Lee Ju-hyung’s RBI single to right.

In the third, Song drove in Ronnie Dawson, who doubled, with a single to right to make it 3-0.

There were no more runs, but the team’s mound shut down the KT bats.

Kim Sun-ki pitched six innings, followed by Yoon Seok-won, Ha Young-min, and Kim Jae-woong, who each pitched one inning to complete the shutout.

The second-place KT, which managed just three hits, suffered its second straight loss.

Hanwha snaps 8-game losing streak with win over LG, Noh hits 30th career home run

In Jamsil, the last-place Hanwha Eagles snapped an eight-game losing streak with a hard-fought 5-3 victory over the first-place LG Twins.

Hanwha jumped out to a 3-0 lead as starter Ricardo Sanchez struck out six and held the LG bats to three hits and no runs over six innings.

In the second inning, Jang Jin-hyuk led off with a single to center field.

In the sixth inning, Noh Si-hwan hit a two-run home run to left field to make it 3-0.

The home run leader reached the 30-homer mark for the first time since his debut in 2019.

Noh moved into sole possession of the home run lead, widening the gap between him and Choi Jung (SSG Landers, 24).

He also became the second player in 20 years to hit 30 home runs in a single season at the age of 22 or younger, following former Hanwha Eagles commentator Kim Tae-kyun, who hit 31 at the age of 21.

For the second time this season, Noh also set the record for home runs against his former club.

Trailing by a run, LG tied the game in the bottom of the eighth inning on Park Hae-min’s thunderous three-run homer with runners on first and third.

But in the top of the ninth, closer Ko Woo-seok collapsed.메이저사이트

With the bases loaded, Hanwha scored the game-winning run when Lee Jin-young hit a two-run double to left field.

The Doosan Bears-Lotte Giants game at Sajik Stadium in Busan was canceled due to rain.

The game will be rescheduled for Monday, April 4 at 6:30 p.m. at the same venue.

Meanwhile, 73,773 fans attended the four stadiums on Sunday, bringing the season attendance to 6.148 million after 558 games, surpassing last year’s total (6.076 million).