Lotte Giants Dominate Kiwoom Heroes Behind Reyes’ Go-Ahead Double
The Lotte Giants put together a dominant performance at home on Wednesday night, defeating the visiting Kiwoom Heroes 7-1 in front of a mid-week crowd. The Giants struck early and often, building a comfortable lead that the Heroes never threatened to overcome. Reyes delivered the decisive blow in the sixth inning with a two-run double into right-center field, essentially putting the game away for Lotte.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kiwoom Heroes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Lotte Giants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
Kiwoom came into the matchup hoping to improve their playoff positioning, but Park Jun-hyeon’s struggles on the mound made it difficult from the opening pitch. The Heroes’ starter worked five innings and gave up three runs on just three hits, though he was hampered by poor command, walking four batters. His inability to locate early put Lotte in position to build momentum, and the Giants took full advantage.
Pitching Performance
Na Gyun-an earned the victory for Lotte, working six solid innings while scattering five hits and striking out four. The right-hander’s control was spotty—he issued four walks—but he managed the damage well, yielding only the one run that Kiwoom managed to put on the board. It was the kind of efficient outing that doesn’t always jump off the page but gets the job done when run support is available.
Park Jun-hyeon took the loss for Kiwoom, surrendering three runs in five innings. The stat line might not look terrible at first glance, but the walks told the real story. Four free passes in five frames is asking for trouble in any ballpark, and Lotte capitalized on the opportunities. Kim Sun-gi entered in relief and immediately ran into problems, giving up two additional runs on two hits while recording just one out before being pulled.
After the early damage, Kiwoom’s bullpen settled down somewhat. Park Jin-hyung, Jung Hyun-woo, and Jo Young-gun combined to keep Lotte off the board the rest of the way, but by that point the game was already decided. Lotte’s relief corps of Park Jeong-min, Kim Han-gyeol, and Hyun Do-hun was sharp in the late innings, retiring the side in order multiple times to close things out.
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kiwoom Heroes | ||||||
| Park Jun-hyun [L] | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Kim Sun-ki | 0 ⅔ | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Park Jin-hyung | 0 ⅓ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jung Hyun-woo | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jo Young-gun | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lotte Giants | ||||||
| Na Kyun-an [W] | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Park Jung-min | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kim Han-gyeol | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Hyun Do-hoon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Offensive Highlights
Lotte’s lineup showed more aggression and consistency than their opponents. Hwang Sung-bin led the charge by going 2-for-2 at the plate, including a double down the line in the third inning. He also swiped a base in the first inning, though he was subsequently caught stealing to erase some of that initiative. Still, he set an early tone that Kiwoom couldn’t match.
Reyes was the other key contributor for the Giants, going 1-for-4 but making that one hit count enormously. His sixth-inning double with runners on first and second proved to be the go-ahead and go-ahead-some hit, essentially deciding the contest. Na Seung-yeop, Han Dong-hee, and Ko Seung-min also recorded RBIs for Lotte, spreading the offensive load across the lineup.
Kiwoom’s attack was practically nonexistent. An Chi-hong managed the Heroes’ only RBI, finishing 1-for-3 at the plate. The rest of the lineup couldn’t generate much of anything, stranded runners and failed to put pressure on the Lotte defense. It was the kind of offensive performance that leaves a team feeling frustrated on the bus ride home.
| Batter | AB | H | R | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kiwoom Heroes | |||||
| An Chi-hong | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lotte Giants | |||||
| Hwang Sung-bin | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Na Seung-yeop | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Reyes | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Han Dong-hee | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Go Seung-min | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jeon Min-jae | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Key Play
The pivotal moment came in the sixth inning when Reyes stepped up to the plate with Hwang and another runner on base and nobody out. He didn’t miss his opportunity, driving a pitch into the gap for a double that scored both runners easily. That two-run hit put Lotte up 5-1 at the time, and it essentially ended any chance of a Kiwoom comeback. The Giants had already jumped out to an early lead, and Reyes’ hit simply put an exclamation point on what had already become a one-sided affair.
Standings Impact
The victory moved Lotte to 50 wins on the season, keeping them in sixth place in the standings. Kiwoom remains mired in tenth place with a 42-72 record, their playoff hopes growing dimmer by the week. The loss was particularly costly given the Heroes’ precarious position in the standings. With twelve games remaining in the regular season, this matchup represented the kind of winnable game that Kiwoom needed to secure.