Seoul: The LG Twins narrowly defeated the Samsung Lions 1-0 on Thursday, extending their journey in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason and avoiding elimination.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the game held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium witnessed a combined pitching effort that led to a shutout victory before a maximum attendance of 23,750 spectators. Twins starter Im Chan-kyu delivered an impressive 5 1/3 innings without allowing a run. Reliever Elieser Hernandez continued the trend with 3 2/3 scoreless innings, securing the win. The sole run of the match came in the fifth inning when Hong Chang-ki hit a sacrifice fly, which proved decisive in the tightly contested game.
The victory was crucial for the Twins as the Lions had a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. The Twins’ win not only pushes the series to a fourth game but also keeps alive their hopes of repeating their success from the previous season, aiming to become the first team since the 2015-16 Doosan Bears to win back-to-back Korean
Series titles.
During the match, both teams displayed strong defensive skills, particularly in the early innings where scoring opportunities were nullified by effective pitching and strategic plays. Lions’ starter Hwang Dong-jae managed to escape multiple jams, maintaining a deadlock until the fifth inning. However, the Twins capitalized on a critical moment with Hong’s sacrifice fly, which ultimately shaped the game’s outcome.
The Lions struggled offensively, a stark contrast to their performance in the first two games of the series where they recorded eight home runs and 28 hits. In Thursday’s game, they were limited to just five hits and missed several opportunities to score, particularly in the later innings where they left multiple runners stranded.
Looking ahead to Game 4, the Lions will bring back Denyi Reyes, the winning pitcher from Game 1, while the Twins will rely on left-hander Dietrich Enns. Both teams are set for a pivotal next game at Jamsil, where the series outcome could potentially be dec
ided.