When LG Baseball acquired catcher Park Dong-won in free agency last winter, the team hoped to play “fake baseball” late in games. The idea was to platoon the home run-producing Park and potential slugger Lee Jae-won in the 7.8th spot in the batting order, where a single home run could often turn a game around.
LG manager Yoon Kyung-yeop’s intentions were only half successful, as Lee Jae-won was unable to break into the starting lineup. However, Park’s 15 home runs in the first half alone largely fulfilled LG’s “fake baseball” scenario.
In the second half of the season, Park’s home run drought came to an end, as he hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning of a 2-4 loss to Kiwoom in Jamsil on March 3 to tie the game.
Park, who started as the No. 7 hitter and catcher, hit a game-tying two-run home run to left field off reliever Im Chang-min with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning after leadoff hitter Moon Bo-kyung drew a walk. On a 2-1 pitch count, he pulled a fastball low to the body (143.4 kilometers) for a three-run home run with a distance of 119.8 meters. The 16th of the season.
Park Dong-won’s home run gave LG a “happy ending” to the day. After the game went into extra innings at 4-4, LG won 5-4 in the bottom of the 12th inning with a walk-off single by Jung Joo-hyun to extend their winning streak to seven games.
In the top of the 12th inning, with runners on first and second and two outs, LG walked Jung Woo-young to load the bases with an automatic double play, then struck out Kim Joo-hyung and got Kim Dong-heon to ground out to shortstop to end the threat.
In the bottom of the 12th, LG put runners on first and second with a walk to Hong Chang-ki and a single to left by Moon Sung-joo, and then 토토사이트 Kim Hyun-soo grounded out to first to end the game with runners on second and third. Jung Joo-hyun at the plate. After Austin walked in the previous at-bat and was replaced by pinch-hitter Choi Seung-min, Jung Joo-hyun came to the plate. After a seven-pitch battle with Kiwoom sidearm Yang Hyun, Jung lined an infield single to shortstop to bring home Hong Chang-ki, the third baseman.
Kiwoom shortstop Kim Joo-hyung snagged a line drive to center field and threw to first base, but Jeong made a head-first sliding catch. Kiwoom requested a video replay, but the result was not changed.
“It was a difficult situation, but when Park Dong-won hit the tying home run in the ninth inning, it made the players united and focused, and Jung Joo-hyun made an infield hit with a hustle play at the end to win the game,” said LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop, who was ejected from the game after protesting the video review in the fifth inning.