Daejeon: The LG Twins staged a thrilling ninth-inning rally to defeat the Hanwha Eagles 7-4 on Thursday, moving within one win of capturing the Korean Series title.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Twins, who had surrendered six runs in the eighth inning of Game 3 to lose 7-3, turned the tables on the Eagles in Game 4 of the best-of-seven Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) championship series at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark. With a 3-1 series lead, the Twins are now just one victory away from securing their second title in three seasons as they head into Game 5, scheduled to take place in Daejeon at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
The game took a dramatic turn in the ninth inning. The Twins were trailing 4-1 when Oh Ji-hwan drew a leadoff walk against Eagles reliever Kim Seo-hyeon. Park Dong-won then hit a two-run home run, narrowing the gap to 4-3. The turning point came with two outs as Kim Hyun-soo delivered a crucial two-run single off Park Sang-won, giving the Twins a 5-4 lead. Moon Bo-gyeong followed with an RBI double, and Austin Dean ended his slump with a single, pushing the score to 7-4.
The Eagles had wasted a strong performance by starter Ryan Weiss, who had allowed just one run over 7 2/3 innings while striking out seven. Despite opening the scoring for the third consecutive game, the Eagles could not maintain their advantage. A two-run single by Moon Hyun-bin in the seventh had extended their lead, but the bullpen could not hold off the Twins’ late rally.
Kim Seo-hyeon, tasked with preserving the Eagles’ lead, faltered in the ninth inning. After issuing a walk to Oh Ji-hwan, he gave up the home run to Park Dong-won. Park Sang-won then took over but was unable to stop the Twins’ momentum, with Kim Hyun-soo’s record-setting postseason hit providing the go-ahead runs.
The Eagles had added an insurance run in the eighth, but it was not enough to withstand the Twins’ onslaught. The stage is now set for Game 5, with a rematch of the starting pitchers from the series opener. Anders Tolhurst, who led the Twins to an 8-2 victory in Game 1, will once again face Moon Dong-ju, who struggled in his initial outing.
As the series heads into a potentially decisive fifth game, the Twins are poised to clinch the championship, while the Eagles must regroup quickly to extend the series.