Twice the gods turned away the most dramatic scenes.
The Lotte Giants won 6-5 against the KIA Tigers in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ at Sajik Stadium in Busan on Thursday.
It was a nail-biter until the end. Lotte had the last laugh. Noh Jin-hyuk’s game-winning hit with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Lotte the win.
In fact, there were two other times when Lotte could have ended the game with a walk-off home run.
First, with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, Yoon Dong-hee hit a 146-kilometer fastball from Jang Hyun-sik for a big hit into the left field seats. After doing a bat flip and staring at the pitch, Yoon realized that it was out of the foul line and couldn’t hide her disappointment. So did the 22,990 fans who packed Sajik Stadium.
Lotte requested a video replay, but it didn’t change the outcome, and Yoon stepped up to the plate again. However, the foul home run left her with no energy, and she struck out swinging.
Still, Lotte had another golden opportunity to load the bases, this time when Noh Jin-hyuk hit a 139-kilometer forkball from Jang Hyun-sik. 메이저사이트 This time, it was to right field. The ball hit the top of the fence for the final out. If the ball had gone just a little higher, it could have been a grand slam.
“I had a chance, but I actually wanted (Yoon) to finish it off at the end,” Noh said after the game, revealing that he wanted junior Dong-hee Yoon to be the one to finish it off, but when asked why his shot didn’t go over the fence, he said, “I think it didn’t go over because it was a resignation ballpark. I think it would have gone over if it was a different ballpark,” she said. “I’ve been stressed about my batting average lately,” said Noh, who laughed, “It’s a shame because it would have been four RBIs if it had gone over.”
Unless it was a walk-off home run. Regardless, Lotte’s dramatic victory not only secured them a sweep of this weekend’s three-game series, but also cut the gap to second-place LG to one game. Nothing feels better than a win.
