 |
| Kim Jin-wook / Photo=DB |
Lotte beat KT 6-1 on April 8 at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan in a 2026 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League game.
The victory moved Lotte to 3-7 on the season, while KT fell to 7-3.
Lotte starter Kim Jin-wook delivered a near-perfect outing, throwing eight innings, allowing three hits (one home run), striking out six, issuing one walk and surrendering one run to earn his first win of the season.
At the plate, Víctor Reyes and Jeon Jun-woo each collected three hits to fuel the Giants' offense.
KT starter Oh Won-seok took the loss, going four innings while allowing six hits, striking out five, walking one and giving up three runs (one earned).
KT struck first with a big swing. In the top of the second, leadoff hitter Hilliard turned on Kim’s second pitch—a 135 km/h slider—and drilled a solo homer.
Lotte answered right away. In the bottom of the second, with two outs and runners on first and second following Han Dong-hee’s single and Jeon Min-jae’s walk, Son Seong-bin hit an infield single and a throwing error by the third baseman allowed Han to score from third.
The Giants then took the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Son Ho-young doubled and, after Jeon Min-jae’s ground ball advanced a runner to third with one out, Son Seong-bin delivered a sacrifice fly to right for the go-ahead run.
Hwang Seong-bin reached on a shortstop fielding error, then stole a base to put himself in scoring position. Reyes followed with an RBI single to center to make it 3-1.
While KT struggled to solve Kim, Lotte kept up the pressure. In the bottom of the fifth, with one out and a runner on first after Han’s single, Kim Min-seong launched the second pitch from reliever Son Dong-hyun—a 146 km/h fastball—over the left fielder’s reach for a two-run homer.
KT couldn’t get back into Kim’s rhythm after the second-inning homer and failed to score again through the eighth.
Lotte put the game away in the bottom of the eighth. With two outs and runners on first and third after Hwang and Reyes reached, Jeon Jun-woo’s RBI single extended the lead to 6-1.
Holding the lead, Lotte turned the ninth over to Choi Jun-yong, who retired the side in order to close out the game.
[Sports Today reporter Kang Tae-gu sports@stoo.com]
「Your closest, most fun news ⓒ Sports Today」
