The ending of this epic game was a draw. Lotte made a remarkable comeback to overcome a 13-run deficit, while KIA fought hard to prevent a sweep. In the end, the game went to 12 extra innings, but there was no winner.
The Lotte Giants drew 15-15 against the Kia Tigers in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Sajik Stadium in Busan on April 25, after a close game that went into the 12th inning.
Lotte started starter Na Gyun-an and deployed Hwang Sung-bin (center field), Yoon Dong-hee (right field), Ko Seung-min (second base), Victor Reyes (left field), Na Seung-yeop (first base), Lee Jung-hoon (designated hitter), Jeong-hoon (third base), Park Seung-wook (shortstop), and Son Sung-bin (catcher) in the 1-9 batting order.
In response, KIA sent starter James Nail to the mound and deployed a 1-9 batting order of Seo Gun-chang (second base), Socrates Brito (left field), Kim Do-young (third base), Choi Hyung-woo (designated hitter), Na Sung-beom (right field), Lee Woo-sung (first base), Choi Won-joon (center field), Han Jun-soo (catcher), and Park Chan-ho (shortstop).
KIA’s bats came out hot from the start of the game. After leadoff hitter Seo Gun-chang drew a walk in the top of the first inning, KIA took an early two-run lead when Socrates hit a 137-kilometer cutter from Na Kyun-ahn for a two-run home run off Woo Jung-wol. It was Socrates’ 15th home run of the season. The distance was measured at 130 meters. Kim Do-young followed with a double to right and Choi Hyung-woo hit an RBI single to right-center to give KIA one more run. Na Sung-beom followed with a double to left, and Lee Woo-sung’s grounder to third baseman Jung Hoon led to an infield single, and after Choi Won-joon fouled out to first base and Han Jun-soo struck out, KIA had runners on the corners with two outs, but Park Chan-ho singled up the middle to score the fifth run.
Lotte answered with a run in the bottom of the first. Hwang Sung-bin led off with a single to right field, and Yoon Dong-hee followed with a single to right. With runners on first and second, Reyes lined a single to left field to score a run for Lotte.
Kia’s momentum continued in the top of the second inning. Kim Do-young led off with a walk and stole second base. Two batters 먹튀검증 later, Lee Woo-sung and Choi Won-joon drew back-to-back walks to load the bases for KIA, who scored one run on a wild pitch by Na Gyun-ahn and two more when Han Jun-soo hit a timely double off the right-field fence. After Park Chan-ho drew a straight-up walk, Lotte sent Hyun Do-hoon to the mound in place of Na Gyun-ahn to save the day.
Kia added a run in the top of the third inning. Leadoff hitter Socrates doubled to left, and two batters later, Na Sung-beom singled to center to score the ninth run.
The top of the fourth inning was another big inning for KIA. After leadoff hitter Choi Won-jun singled to right, Han Jun-su followed with a single to right, and Park Chan-ho followed with a single to right to give KIA the bases loaded. After Seo Gun-chang singled to right to score a run, Socrates doubled to right to score two more runs, and Choi Hyung-woo’s throwing error by the first baseman allowed two runners to cross home plate. Kia ended the top of the fourth inning with a 14-1 lead.
Then, Lotte’s deceptive comeback began. In the bottom of the fourth, after a leadoff single by Na Seung-yeop led to a throwing error by the third baseman and a double to left-center by Lee Jung-hoon, Lotte loaded the bases with one run on a grounder to second by Jung-hoon and one run on a single to center by Park Seung-wook. After Hwang Sung-bin doubled to left-center and Yoon Dong-hee drew a straightaway walk to load the bases, Lotte exploded for six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, capped by Go Seung-min’s grand slam to 메이저사이트 right field. Ko took advantage of Nail’s 144-kilometer two-seam fastball for his sixth home run of the season. It traveled 120 meters.
Lotte was not done chasing. In the bottom of the fifth, leadoff hitter Lee Jung-hoon singled to left, Jung-hoon followed with a double to left, and Park Seung-wook hit a grounder to second base to score Lee from third. Two batters later, Hwang Sung-bin singled to left. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Na Seung-yeop and Lee Jung-hoon hit back-to-back singles to right field, and Jung-hoon blasted a three-run homer to left field to extend Lotte’s lead to 12-14. Jung-hoon hit a 128-kilometer curveball from Kim Do-hyun for his sixth home run of the season. It traveled 105 meters.
Lotte finally broke through in the bottom of the seventh inning. After Choi Hang led off with a single to right, Hwang Sung-bin singled to center and Yoon Dong-hee laid down a catcher’s sacrifice bunt to put runners on second and third. Go Seung-min, who had hit a grand slam earlier in the game, showed off his fixer-upper instincts with a two-run single up the middle to tie the game at 14-14. A throwing error by pitcher Kwak Do-gyu at second base on Kim Dong-hyuk’s grounder gave Lotte another chance, and after a walk to Na Seung-yeop, Lee Jung-hoon hit a sacrifice fly to right field to make it 15-14.
But it wasn’t going to be a rout for KIA. In the top of the eighth, pinch-hitter Lee Chang-jin singled to right and Kim Tae-gun laid down a sacrifice bunt to first base to load the bases, and two batters later, Hong Jong-pyo singled up the middle to tie the game at 15-15. Socrates singled to right-center to put runners on second and third, but Kim Do-young hit a well-struck pitch to center field that was blocked by right fielder Yoon Dong-hee.
Lotte brought in closer Kim Won-joong in the top of the ninth to keep Kia from scoring and the game went to extra innings.
For Lotte, starter Na Gyun-an struggled, allowing eight runs on seven hits and six walks with two strikeouts in 1⅔ innings, and Hyun Do-hoon also fared poorly with six runs (five earned) on seven hits in 3⅓ innings, but Park Jin-jin pitched one scoreless inning, Jin Hae-soo pitched ⅔ scoreless inning, Kim Sang-soo pitched one run on three hits in one inning, Kim Won-joong pitched two scoreless innings, and Koo Seung-min pitched two scoreless innings.
For Kia, starter Nail gave up nine runs (four earned) on 11 hits in five innings, while the bullpen was highlighted by Jang Hyun-sik, who struck out three in three scoreless innings.
Meanwhile, 19,110 fans attended the game at Sajik Stadium. The two teams will meet once again at Sajik Stadium on April 26, starting at 6:30 p.m.