‘Rayes’ 204 hits’ KIA smiles as Lotte’s “gochugaru” (Korean chili powder) takes effect! LG suffers shocking 1-9 loss → Even if they win all remaining games, 3rd place is uncertain [Busan On-Site Review]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The Lotte Giants firmly held back the LG Twins, who were in a desperate race for position. LG, which had been aiming to reclaim 3rd place, suffered an eight-run defeat at the hands of Lotte, losing even the possibility of securing 3rd place on its own merit.

On the 9th, Lotte defeated LG 9-1 in a home game during the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan.

With this victory, Lotte snapped a four-game losing streak to record 62 wins, three draws, and 76 losses, reclaiming 7th place from the NC Dinos, who lost to the KIA Tigers on the same day. LG, which took a hit from Lotte, stands at 77 wins, one draw, and 64 losses, trailing KIA (77 wins, two draws, and 62 losses), who defeated NC 7-2 on the same day, by one game.

This is an emergency for LG. Even if LG wins its remaining two games, including the head-to-head matchup against KIA, it cannot secure 3rd place on its own merit. If LG wins its last two games, its record will be 79 wins, one draw, and 64 losses, resulting in a winning percentage of .552.

If KIA wins both its game against the SSG Landers on the 10th and its game against Lotte on the 11th, it will maintain 3rd place with a record of 79 wins, two draws, and 63 losses, and a winning percentage of .556, even if it loses in the final head-to-head matchup against LG on the 12th.

The turning point came in the bottom of the 7th inning, with Lotte leading 3-1. Leadoff hitter Yoon Dong-hee hit a single to center field off reliever John Kennedy, and advanced to second base on Hwang Seong-bin’s sacrifice bunt. Victor Rayes reached on an intentional walk, and Kennedy failed to field Na Seung-yeop’s grounder cleanly, resulting in bases loaded with no outs.

Here, another play lacking focus occurred. LG third baseman Moon Bo-kyung fielded Go Seung-min’s grounder and touched third base to throw out the runner on second, which was good. However, he threw a wild pitch to first base, allowing runner Kim Dong-hyeok from third to score, and Lotte maintained a bases-loaded opportunity with one out.

LG brought in Woo Kang-hoon to the mound again, but it made no difference. Han Dong-hee extended the opportunity with an RBI single to left-center field, and Jeon Min-jae hit a three-run home run over the left-field fence to make it 8-1.

Lotte starter Kim Han-gul pitched stubbornly against Major League veteran Carlos Karasco, allowing one hit (one home run), four walks, striking out five, and giving up one run in four innings. LG starter Karasco pitched five innings, allowing five hits, two base-on-balls (one walk, one hit by pitch), striking out seven, and giving up three runs. He fought hard but suffered his third loss of the season (six wins) due to his team’s offensive slump.

Lotte also dominated in the slugfest, recording 11 hits compared to LG’s two. In particular, Rayes, who is challenging for the KBO all-time hit record, added a hit despite an intentional walk, finishing with one hit in three at-bats, two RBIs, and one walk. This tied Choe Won-jun (KT Wiz)’s record of 204 hits set two days ago. It is a tie for the most hits in a single KBO League season.

Jeon Min-jae contributed with two hits in four at-bats (one home run), three RBIs, and two runs scored, including a go-ahead home run. Yoon Dong-hee had two hits in three at-bats and one run scored, while Hwang Seong-bin recorded two hits in three at-bats and one RBI. For LG, only Moon Jeong-bin recorded the team’s only multi-hit game with two hits in three at-bats (one home run), one RBI, and one walk.

LG lined up its batting order as Park Hae-min (center fielder) - Song Chan-ui (left fielder) - Austin Dean (first baseman) - Moon Jeong-bin (designated hitter) - Moon Bo-kyung (third baseman) - Lee Jae-won (right fielder) - Koo Bon-hyeok (shortstop) - Park Dong-won (catcher) - Lee Young-bin (second baseman). The starting pitcher was Carlos Karasco.

In response, Lotte arranged its batting order as Victor Rayes (designated hitter) - Na Seung-yeop (first baseman) - Go Seung-min (second baseman) - Han Dong-hee (third baseman) - Jeon Min-jae (shortstop) - Son Seong-bin (catcher) - Jo Se-jin (left fielder) - Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder) - Hwang Seong-bin (center fielder). The starting pitcher was Kim Han-gul.

The home team Lotte scored first. In the bottom of the 2nd inning, leadoff hitter Jeon Min-jae hit a single to left field, Jo Se-jin drew a hit by pitch, and Yoon Dong-hee hit an infield single, loading the bases with one out. From there, Hwang Seong-bin hit an RBI single to left field, Rayes delivered an RBI sacrifice fly to left field, and Na Seung-yeop hit an RBI single to right-center field, scoring three runs in a flash.

In the top of the 4th inning, Moon Jeong-bin came up as the leadoff hitter and crushed Kim Han-gul’s inside two-seam fastball for a solo home run to left field. The ball speed was 176.2 km/h and the distance was 130 meters, marking his 18th home run of the season. However, LG’s scoring ended there.

Lotte, which produced a five-run inning in the 7th, sealed the 9-1 victory by adding Rayes’ RBI single to center field with one out and runners on first and third in the bottom of the 8th. Meanwhile, the day marked the retirement ceremony for veteran infielder Kim Min-seong (38). Amidst a crowd of 21,546 spectators celebrating the veteran’s final game, his juniors also saw him off with a victory.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original