NC used their home run arsenal to take down the May MVP candidate. They started a winning streak and climbed to fourth place.
The NC Dinos won 7-3 against the LG Twins in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Wednesday. With their second straight win, they improved to 25-23 with a .521 winning percentage. On the same day, NC moved back into sole possession of fourth place with Doosan’s 3-13 loss to KT.
Two home runs in the fourth inning proved to be the difference. NC regained the lead with a solo home run by Kwon Hee-dong in the fourth inning after the score was tied at 2-2, and went up by five runs on a three-run shot by Seo Ho-chul at 4-2. Starter Eric Peddie earned the win with five innings of two-run ball.안전놀이터
- Winning pitcher NC Eric Peddy / Losing pitcher LG Chan-gyu Lim
- Home runs NC Kwon Hee-dong (4th inning, 1 run), Seo Ho-cheol (4th inning, 1 run)
- Total attendance: 18,890
▷ No. 4 hitter in crunch time, two RBIs in the first inning
NC took an early lead in the top of the first inning when Jason Martin hit a two-run double to put runners on first and second. Seo Ho-cheol followed with a single to left and Park Gun-woo drew a walk.
Prior to this game, Martin had been in a slump, batting just .238 with a .719 OPS, which is not good enough for a No. 4 hitter. With just two home runs and five doubles in 23 games, he hasn’t been able to produce the kind of power he was hoping for. Kang hinted that he might adjust the batting order if Martin’s struggles continued, but he never did. The leadoff single was another vote of confidence.
LG fights back with two runs in the second inning
LG starter Lim Chan-kyu was shaky in the first inning, throwing 30 pitches, but he retired the side in order in the second and third innings. LG’s batters helped chase down Lim with runs. RBI singles in both the second and third innings tied the game at 2-2.
In the second, Oh Ji-hwan singled and Kim Min-sung walked to load the bases. With runners on first and second, Park Hae-min’s ‘pushed’ ball landed in front of the left fielder, allowing Park Dong-won to score from second. In the third inning, with two outs, Moon Bo-kyung tied the game with a double to right field.
▷ Masu-girl’s home run sparks big inning
NC retained the lead with a big inning right after the tie. In fact, it sealed the win. Kwon Hee-dong led off the inning with a home run, and two batters later, Seo Ho-chul hit a grand slam.
Hee-dong Kwon’s home run data
Fastball / Launch angle 33.3 degrees / Batter speed 162.5 km/h / Distance 122.1 metres
Kwon Hee-dong led off the fourth inning with a home run on a 1-1 pitch. It was his first home run of the season after 19 games. It proved to be the winning run.
Seo Ho-cheol’s home run data
Slider / Launch angle 23.2 degrees / Batter speed 166.6 km/h / Distance 123.5 metres
Two batters later, Son As-seop hit an RBI single to make the score 4-2. NC didn’t stop there and definitely set the tone with a home run. With runners on second and third, Seo hit a line-drive home run over the left-centre fence. It was Seo’s first home run of the season.
May’s top pitcher falls apart…LG’s winning streak halted
NC starter Eric Peddy threw 105 pitches in five innings to earn the win. He wasn’t his usual dominant self, but he only walked one batter while working into an unfavourable count. He allowed two runs on five hits with one walk and four strikeouts in five innings to improve to 9-1 on the season.
LG starter Lim Chan-kyu took the loss after giving up seven runs in just two innings, the second and fourth. His ERA soared from 1.97 to 3.02. After going 4-0 with a 1.13 ERA in four games in May to lead LG to the top spot, Lim Chan-kyu’s first game in June turned into a nightmare.
A bases-loaded walk-off single by Park Dong-won in the bottom of the eighth inning sent LG fans scurrying from their seats. After dropping the first two games of the series on the 2nd and 3rd, LG’s streak of consecutive winning series came to an end. It was an eight-game winning streak, excluding a rain-cancelled game in May, that came to a halt in the first series of June. It was also their first back-to-back losses since a three-game series against KIA from 28-30 April.
LG suffered a setback when top hitter Hong Chang-ki was hit by a pitch in the left calf in the first inning and was replaced by a pinch-hitter in the fourth inning. Lee Ju-hyung came in as a pinch-hitter, followed by Kim Bum-seok, who made his first-team debut.