After winning their first regular season title in 29 years, the LG Twins celebrate with a trophy after defeating the Doosan Bears in the regular season finale.
LG defeated Doosan 5-2 in the final game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League regular season at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Friday. With the win, LG finished the regular season with an overall record of 86 wins, 2 draws, and 56 losses. Meanwhile, Doosan, whose three-game winning streak was snapped, fell to 74-2-66 and will face SSG Landers on April 16-17 to determine the final standings.
Doosan’s starting lineup: Jung Soo-bin (center field), Cho Sun-hyun (right field), Rojas (designated hitter), Yang Seok-hwan (first base), Kang Seung-ho (second base), Kim In-tae (left field), Park Jun-young (third base), Jang Seung-hyun (catcher), and Kim Jae-ho (shortstop). Starting pitcher Kim Dong-joo.
LG starting lineup: Park Hae-min (center fielder) Hong Chang-ki (right fielder) Kim Hyun-soo (left fielder) Austin (first baseman) Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop) Moon Bo-kyung (third baseman) Kim Min-sung (second baseman) Lee Jae-won (designated hitter) Heo Do-hwan (catcher). Starting pitcher Im Chan-kyu.
Doosan struck first. In the top of the second inning, Yang Seok-hwan led off with a double up the middle and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Kang Seung-ho. Kim In-tae then walked to put runners on first and third, and Park Jun-young’s infield single brought in Yang to give Doosan a 1-0 lead.
LG scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to pull away from Dusan. After Hong Chang-ki singled to left field, Kim Hyun-soo and Austin followed with back-to-back singles and Oh Ji-hwan walked to load the bases. Moon Bo-kyung grounded out to short, but Kim Hyun-soo was thrown out at home to keep the bases loaded, and pinch-hitter Moon Sung-joo hit a two-run double to left to give LG a 3-1 lead.
With the bases loaded and two outs, the pitcher switched to Park Chi-guk, and Lee Jae-won drew a nine-pitch walk and Heo Do-hwan was hit by a pitch to load the bases again for LG. Park Hae-min took advantage of the opportunity, scoring two more runs to extend the lead to 5-1.
Neither team scored any more runs after that. In the bottom of the fifth inning, LG led off with a single to center field, but was promptly stranded with two outs on Austin’s single to center field.
Doosan put runners on first and second in the top of the sixth when Rojas singled to center and Yang Seok-hwan singled to left after Jung Soo-bin and Cho Su-hyun walked, but Im Chan-kyu grounded out to first against Seung-hyun Baek at the plate to end the inning without scoring.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, LG got one out when Moon Sung-ju singled in front of the shortstop, but after the pitching change from Lee Byung-heon to Park Shin-ji, Lee Jae-won struck out to end the inning as Moon Sung-ju was caught trying to steal one more base between wild pitches.
Unable to capitalize on the LG mound, Doosan got one run back in the top of the eighth. On the mound for LG was Yoo Young-chan. Jung Soo-bin singled to left field, and Cho Su-hyun lined out to first base, but Rojas’ throw went over the fence. Rojas took a 148 km/h fastball from Yoo for a solo home run over the right field wall. It was Rojas’ 19th home run of the season, making the score 2-5.
Doosan put runners on first and second in the top of the ninth when Kim In-tae singled and Park Joon-young walked after Kang Seung-ho retired Kim Jin-sung on three pitches, but pinch-hitter Yang Yang-ji grounded into a double play. After the game, LG was scheduled to hold a regular season championship trophy presentation ceremony and home finale.
LG starter Im Chan-kyu pitched 5⅔ innings, allowing one run on four hits and one walk while striking out three to earn his 14th win of the season. He was followed by Baek Seung-hyun (1 inning), Jung Woo-young (⅓ inning), Yoo Young-chan (1 inning), and Kim Jin-sung (1 inning) to close the door and preserve the win. At the plate, Moon Sung-ju was 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI, while Park Hae-min had a hit and two RBI.토토사이트
Doosan had to swallow the loss as Kim Dong-ju took the loss, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks with one strikeout in 3⅔ innings. The offense, which totaled just six hits, was led by Rojas with two hits including a home run and one RBI, Yang Seok-hwan with two hits and one RBI, and Park Jun-young with one hit and one RBI, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the loss.