Kiwoom Heroes’ Lim Ji-yeol snapped his team’s four-game losing streak with a dramatic eighth-inning comeback. The Lotte Giants, looking for a weekend three-game sweep of Kiwoom, had to settle for a come-from-behind win.
Kiwoom came from behind to win 7-5 at home against Lotte in the 2023 KBO League at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Monday. With the score 3-5 and the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning, Lim Ji-yeol took a fastball from Lotte’s Yoon Myung-joon and blasted a 125-meter home run to center field. It was Lim’s third home run of the season and his first career grand slam.
With Lim’s home run, Kiwoom avoided a three-game weekend sweep and snapped a four-game losing streak. Lotte, on the other hand, tried to overtake second-place SSG Landers, who didn’t play due to rain on the day, but fell short as they allowed a late comeback.
The game started with Lotte taking the lead. In the top of the second inning, Ahn Chi-hong singled to center, Yoo Kang-nam walked, and Noh Jin-hyuk singled to left-center to put runners on the corners, followed by back-to-back sacrifice flies to take a two-run lead. In the top of the third, Jeon Jun-woo tripled with the bases loaded and Ahn Chi-hong singled to left field to bring him home.
Kiwoom had the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning but could only score one run on a double by Addison Russell and a groundout by Lim Byung-wook. Lotte increased its lead to 5-1 in the top of the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly by Jeon Jun-woo and an RBI single by Ahn Chi-hong with runners on second and third. Kiwoom could only manage one run in the bottom of the seventh inning on a double by Kim Hui-jip, a single by Lee Hyung-jong, and a walk to pinch-hitter Lim Ji-yeol.스포츠토토
With the Kiwoom batting lineup silent, the game seemed to be over. However, in the eighth inning, Kiwoom took advantage of a shaky Lotte bullpen and scored a run on a walk-off home run by Lim Ji-yeol to complete a dramatic comeback win.
In Gwangju, the top-ranked LG Twins swept the KIA Tigers 7-1, while in Daegu, the Samsung Lions snapped a three-game losing streak with a 6-4 victory over the KT Wiz. The Jamsil match between Doosan Bears and SSG and the Changwon match between NC Dinos and Hanwha Eagles were canceled due to rain.