LG Twins Rout Hanwha 12-3 to Reclaim Third Place

The LG Twins shook off the shock of a nine-run collapse two days earlier, unleashing explosive hitting for a second straight game to rout the Hanwha Eagles and reclaim third place in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) league.

Nightmare Comeback Loss Avenged a Day Later

LG beat Hanwha 12-3 in their 13th meeting of the season at Hanwha Life Ballpark on the 23rd, evening the season series at six wins and seven losses. Moon Jung-bin and Song Chan-eui hit home runs in quick succession early in the game, driving Hanwha starter Park Jun-young off the mound before he could finish the second inning.

Two days earlier, LG had led 9-0 before suffering the nightmare of a 15-11 defeat. LG chased Hanwha starter Bruce Zimmermann after just a third of an inning and scored seven runs in the first, but later surrendered momentum and allowed a comeback by Hanwha's dynamite lineup in the second half of the season.

The nine-run comeback loss stands as the second-largest deficit overturned in KBO league history. The record belongs to a May 2013 game in which the SK Wyverns trailed the Doosan Bears 1-11 in Incheon before winning 13-12. Including this game, it was the fourth time in the KBO's 45-year history that a nine-run lead had been overturned, following games in 2003, 2009 and 2022.

Early Firepower and a Strong Outing From Carrasco

LG set its lineup as Shin Min-jae, Park Hae-min, Austin, Song Chan-eui, Moon Bo-gyeong, Moon Jung-bin, Koo Bon-hyuk, Lee Ju-heon and Hong Chang-ki, with Carlos Carrasco as the starter. Hanwha countered with Kim Tae-yeon, Moon Hyun-bin, Han Ji-yun, Kang Baek-ho, Noh Si-hwan, Chae Eun-seong, Heo In-seo, Lee Do-yun and Park Jung-hyun, sending rookie Park Jun-young to the mound as its starter.

In the top of the first, Park Hae-min and Song Chan-eui each reached base on walks, and Moon Bo-gyeong's RBI single and Moon Jung-bin's three-run home run quickly made it 4-0. In the top of the second, Lee Ju-heon and Shin Min-jae reached base, and Park Hae-min's sacrifice fly and Song Chan-eui's three-run home run widened the score to 8-0.

LG starter Carrasco gave up RBI hits to Moon Hyun-bin and Han Ji-yun for three runs in the bottom of the third, but retired Noh Si-hwan and Chae Eun-seong afterward to hold on for six innings and three runs allowed, two of them earned. It was his third quality start since his debut in Korea.

On the Hanwha side, Hwang Jun-seo pitched well as a long reliever, giving up one run over four and a third innings, and Kim Seo-hyun, who followed, held LG scoreless through the seventh. But Jung Woo-ju wobbled after taking the mound in the eighth, handing LG three runs. In the bottom of the ninth, LG closer Son Ju-young came in to finish the game.