Seoul: The LG Twins walked off the NC Dinos 9-8 to snap their two-game losing slide in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on Wednesday, ending a highly engaging contest in a straightforward fashion.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Song Chan-eui drove in the winning run with one out in the bottom of the ninth with a fielder's choice groundout, sending 16,103 fans at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul into celebration. This victory improved the Twins' record to 41-28-2, placing them just a half game behind the Hanwha Eagles for first place, while the Dinos fell to 30-34-4, positioned in eighth place.
The game saw the Twins score first in the bottom of the first inning against rookie starter Kim Nok-won. The opening batters reached base with a walk and a single before cleanup Moon Bo-gyeong brought in the game's first run with a sacrifice fly. The Twins added two more runs in the second inning, courtesy of Shin Min-jae's two-out RBI single and a bases-loaded walk by Moon.
The Dinos responded with two runs in the top of the third, loading the bases with two singles and a walk against starter Yonny Chirinos, and Park Min-woo's single to center brought in two runs. They then took the lead in the fourth inning with three consecutive two-out hits, putting them ahead 5-3.
The Twins managed to cut the deficit in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI groundout by Moon. However, the Dinos restored their two-run lead in the fifth with Kim Hyung-jun's single. The Twins then mounted a comeback in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring four runs to take an 8-6 lead, driven by Shin Min-jae's two-run single and Moon's sacrifice fly, which marked a KBO record for four RBIs without a hit.
The Dinos made it 8-7 with Seo Ho-cheol's sacrifice fly in the sixth, and Choi Jeong-won tied the score in the eighth through a combination of speed and defensive errors. Choi's efforts set up the Twins' decisive play in the ninth inning, where Son's grounder resulted in Park Hae-min scoring the winning run due to an error by the Dinos' shortstop.
The game featured 24 hits and 17 walks, with eight players achieving multihit games. Among them, the Twins' Shin Min-jae stood out with a perfect 3-for-3 performance, three RBIs, and three runs scored. Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb praised the team's focus and highlighted Shin Min-jae's crucial offensive contributions and the relievers' effective innings, which clinched the victory.