With his surprise bunt, Oh Ji-hwan, who reached the milestone of 2,000 career games, sealed the victory! LG defeated Lotte 7-4 to clinch the winning series and secure a joint second-place finish. [Jamsil On-Site Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

LG Twins secured a winning series against the Lotte Giants and closed the gap to 0.5 games behind the leader.

LG secured a 7-4 victory over Lotte in its 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season home game held at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 16th.

With this, LG secured a winning series with two wins and one loss, maintaining second place alongside KT Wiz with an overall record of 11 wins and 5 losses, trailing first-place Samsung Lions by 0.5 games. Lotte failed to carry forward its momentum from the previous day (15th), finishing with six wins and ten losses.

The outcome was decided in the fine details. Veteran Oh Ji-hwan, who successfully reached his 23rd 2,000-game appearance in KBO history with this outing, opened the door with a surprise bunt single. Oh, batting leadoff in the bottom of the seventh inning with LG leading 5-3, rolled a ground ball toward the third baseman. He then stole second base and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Koo Bon-hyuk. Hong Chang-gi reached base on a hit-by-pitch, and Choi Won-young entered as a pinch runner. Choi stole second, and when Park Dong-won grounded out, Oh scored from third to deliver the go-ahead run. Moon Sung-ju and Moon Bo-kyung each recorded multi-hit performances, dismantling the Lotte lineup.

Starting pitchers delivered disappointing performances. LG's Yoni Chirinos pitched five innings, allowing five hits and three walks (one base on balls and two hit-by-pitches), while striking out seven and surrendering one run. Lotte's Alvin Rodriguez also went five innings, giving up six hits and three walks with four strikeouts and three earned runs, leaving the game without a decision. A crowd of 23,750 filled Jamsil Baseball Stadium, marking the 10th sellout of the season for home games.

On this day, Lotte lined up Victor Reyes (left field), No Jin-hyuk (first base), Jeon Jun-woo (designated hitter), Han Dong-hee (third base), Yoon Dong-hee (right field), Han Taeyang (second base), Lee Ho-jun (shortstop), Son Seong-bin (catcher), and Jang Du-seong (center field). The starting pitcher was Alvin Rodriguez.

In response, LG constructed its lineup with Park Hae-min (second baseman), Moon Sung-ju (left fielder), Austin Dean (first baseman), Moon Bo-kyung (designated hitter), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Cheon Seong-ho (third baseman), Hong Chang-ki (right fielder), Park Dong-won (catcher), and Lee Young-bin (second baseman). The starting pitcher was Yoni Chirinos.

The early lead belonged to the visiting team, Lotte. In the top of the first inning, leadoff batter Rayeyes hit a double to center-right field. Rayeyes advanced to third base on a ground ball by No Jin-hyeok and scored on a double by Yoon Dong-hee down the left-field line. Lotte took a 1-0 lead.

LG nearly lost its momentum. At the other team, Jang Du-seong reached base with a double after a single, followed by a stolen second base. LG second baseman Lee Young-bin fumbled a routine ground ball hit by Rayeys twice, nearly creating a bases-loaded situation. However, Chirinos remained composed and retired No Jin-hyeok with a swinging strikeout, preventing any runs from scoring.

The home team immediately tied the game. In the bottom of the second inning, leadoff batter Moon Bo-kyung reached base with a double down the right-field line. Cheon Seong-ho then drove in a run with a large double to the left-field wall, leveling the score at 1-1. During Hong Chang-gi's at-bat, Cheon Seong-ho attempted to score from third base on a wild pitch but narrowly missed.

LG ultimately succeeded in a comeback. In the bottom of the third inning, leadoff hitter Lee Young-bin singled to the infield, Park Hae-min hit a double to center field, and Moon Sung-ju executed a sacrifice bunt to create a first-out situation with runners on second and third base. On Austin's ground ball, third baseman Lee Young-bin scored at home plate.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, with two outs, Moon Sung-ju hit a double to the left-field wall, and Austin drew a walk to load the bases. Moon Bo-kyung took aim at Rodriguez's first pitch and drove a one-run RBI single down the right-field line, extending LG's lead to 3-1.

However, Lotte had a counterpunch. In the top of the sixth inning, leadoff hitter Lee Ho-jun singled to left field off reliever Jang Hyun-sik, opening the door. Although the next two batters were retired, Rayeyes hit a two-run home run that just cleared the left-center field fence to tie the game at 3-3. LG immediately sought to take the lead. In the bottom of the sixth, Cheon Sung-ho drew a walk against reliever Choi I-jun. Park Dong-won's infield single loaded the bases. Lee Ho-jun then made a diving catch on a tricky ground ball hit by Shin Min-jae.

However, Park Hae-min drew a walk to load the bases, and Moon Sung-joo hit a two-run single over the first baseman's knee to secure a 5-3 comeback. In the bottom of the seventh, LG's veterans showcased their instincts. Leadoff hitter Oh Ji-hwan reached first base with a bunt. He immediately stole second base and advanced to third on Koo Bon-hyuk's sacrifice bunt. Hong Chang-gi reached base on a hit-by-pitch, and pinch runner Choi Won-young stole second base.

When Park Dong-won hit a ground ball, Oh Ji-hwan touched home plate with a technical slide. Although Lotte second baseman Han Taeyang immediately threw home, Oh Ji-hwan's touch was faster. Later, Choi Won-young was thrown out attempting to steal home. However, Shin Min-jae hit a one-run double to right-center field, extending the lead to 7-3. Shin Min-jae also successfully stole second base, becoming the first player in KBO history to reach 5,200 team stolen bases. The only blemish was that he was thrown out while attempting to reach third base due to an opponent's fielding error.

Lotte was left in tears by LG's defense. In the bottom of the eighth inning with one out, Yoo Gangnam hit a double down the left-field line, and Jang Du-sung followed with a single up the middle to load the bases. Rayeyes then scored a run with a sacrifice fly to left field. However, Oh Ji-hwan's errant throw to home plate allowed Jang Du-sung to advance to second base. No Jin-hyeok's hit ball headed toward the far end of the right-field wall. But Choi Won-young, who had entered as a substitute, chased the ball to the end and made the catch to end the inning.

LG's closer Yoo Young-chan recorded his ninth save of the season with a perfect pitching performance, allowing only two strikeouts against the Lotte lineup.

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*This content was translated by AI.