LG Twins Overpower Kiwoom Heroes Behind Carasco’s Steady Start
The LG Twins cruised to an 8-3 victory over the Kiwoom Heroes on Monday night at Gocheok Sky Dome, building an early lead and holding on despite a late rally attempt from the home team. Carasco took the win, allowing just five hits across six innings of work, while the Twins’ lineup made life difficult for Kiwoom starter An Woo-jin from the opening inning. The contest never felt particularly close after the fourth inning, with LG’s pitching staff ultimately limiting the Heroes to their third consecutive loss.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LG Twins | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Kiwoom Heroes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
An Woo-jin struggled from the start, surrendering walks on four separate occasions while striking out three. The right-hander managed to escape the early innings, but the damage mounted as the Twins chipped away. LG’s attack wasn’t overwhelming in terms of volume—the team collected just eight hits total—but they made their opportunities count, capitalizing on Kiwoom’s control issues and defensive lapses.
Carasco Sets Tone on the Mound
The Venezuelan import looked composed throughout his debut appearance for the Twins, working efficiently through the first six frames. Carasco surrendered a pair of runs but faced minimal drama, striking out five batters and keeping the Heroes off-balance with his repertoire. He threw just 88 pitches, a testament to his command on an evening when Kiwoom’s hitters couldn’t generate consistent pressure.
The Twins’ bullpen took over from there, though it required some work. Jin-sung Kim entered in the seventh, yielding two hits and one run before giving way to Kang-hun Woo. Woo escaped a minor jam in the eighth, recording two strikeouts in two-thirds of an inning. Ju-young Son closed things out with a tidy save, striking out three over the final 1⅓ innings without allowing a hit.
Kiwoom’s pitching staff crumbled after An Woo-jin departed. Hyun-woo Jeong, who took the loss, appeared in just one inning and gave up three hits and two runs. The bullpen’s subsequent contributions only worsened matters, with reliever Da-hun Jung coughing up three runs in the ninth—the inning that buried any remaining hope for a comeback.
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LG Twins | ||||||
| Carrasco [W] | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Kim Jin-sung [H] | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Woo Gang-hoon [H] | 0 ⅔ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Son Ju-young [S] | 1 ⅓ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Kiwoom Heroes | ||||||
| An Woo-jin | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Jung Hyun-woo [L] | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Park Ji-sung | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Won Jong-hyun | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jung Da-hoon | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
Twins Bats Make the Most of Limited Opportunities
Sung-chan Song delivered the decisive blow in the sixth inning, launching a solo home run off Jeong to put LG ahead by multiple runs. That blast seemed to deflate whatever momentum Kiwoom might have been building, settling the matter even though several innings remained.
Chang-ki Hong drove in a run, while Bo-gyeong Moon also recorded an RBI during the early innings. Ji-bin Moon chipped in another run-producing hit, keeping the offense flowing. The Twins didn’t need to be spectacular—they just needed to be better than their opponent, and they were.
On the Kiwoom side, Byeong-wook Lim and Chan-hyeok Park each registered a hit and an RBI. Park hit his seventh home run of the season in the seventh inning off Kim, a solo shot that briefly made things interesting. Hyeok-bin Kwon went 2-for-3 and drove in a run, one of the few bright spots in an otherwise frustrating night for the Heroes.
| Batter | AB | H | R | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LG Twins | |||||
| Hong Chang-gi | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Moon Bo-gyeong | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Moon Jung-bin | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Song Chan-ui | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ji-Hwan Oh | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Kiwoom Heroes | |||||
| Lim Byung-uk | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Park Chan-hyuk | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kwon Hyuk-bin | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Late Theatrics Don’t Change the Outcome
Song’s sixth-inning home run stood as the game-winner, but the ninth inning provided some additional drama. Ji-hwan Oh launched a three-run shot off Da-hun Jung with two outs, a blast that made the final margin appear closer than the game actually was. By then, however, LG had already secured its eighth win of the month.
Kiwoom’s defense also proved problematic, with Geon-hui Kim committing an error in the seventh that contributed to the home team’s downfall. The Heroes also managed just one steal, from Hae-min Park in the first inning, while the Twins avoided any major miscues at crucial moments.
Twins Maintain Grip on Playoff Positioning
The victory moves the Twins to 59-1-48 on the season, maintaining their third-place standing in the KBO. Kiwoom falls further back at 40-2-69, firmly entrenched in the basement with little margin for error heading into the final weeks of the campaign. The Heroes will need to find answers quickly if they hope to salvage what has become a disappointing summer.