Samsung Lions hammer 5 homers in postseason rout of LG Twins

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Samsung Lions hammer 5 homers in postseason rout of LG Twins

Published: 16 Oct. 2024, 10:02 Updated: 16 Oct. 2024, 10:03

Kim Hun-gon rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run during Game 2 of the second round of KBO playoffs between the LG Twins and Samsung Lions at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

The Samsung Lions pounded out five home runs to rout the LG Twins 10-5 to move within a win of reaching the championship series in the KBO postseason Tuesday.

Lewin Diaz and Kim Hun-gon each slugged two home runs, while Kim Young-woong homered for his second straight game, as the Lions took a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five second round at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu.

With a sellout crowd of 23,550 fans on hand, Diaz and Kim both homered in consecutive at-bats, only the second time that a pair of teammates accomplished that in KBO postseason history.

The Lions will grab a ticket to the Korean Series with a win in Game 3, scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Twins' home in Seoul, Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

The Lions homered three times in their 10-4 victory in the first game Sunday and outdid themselves after Game 2 had been postponed by a day due to rain.

Lions starter Won Tae-in held the Twins to a run on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings for his first career postseason win.

Samsung starter Won Tae-in prepares to pitch during Game 2 of the second round of KBO playoffs between the LG Twins and Samsung Lions at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

The Twins grabbed their first lead of the series in the top of the first. They got two straight singles with one out against starter Won Tae-in, and a fielder's choice groundout by Kim Hyun-soo cashed in a run for a 1-0 lead.

The Lions responded right away in the bottom first. Koo Ja-wook hit a two-out single off starter Son Ju-young and stole second base, before coming home on a double by Lewin Diaz that landed in no-man's land in shallow left field.

The steal, though, came at a cost, as Koo was lifted from the game with a left knee injury. He was later diagnosed with damage to his medial collateral ligament and was ruled out for at least the next two games.

Koo had already played the first game on Sunday while battling flu-like symptoms and nausea. He took an IV shot after that game, during which he hit a three-run home run, and claimed to be in much better health for Tuesday before hurting his knee in the first inning.

With their captain down and out, the Lions went ahead 2-1 in the bottom second thanks to Kim Young-woong's solo home run.

Kim had homered from the No. 7 spot in the lineup Sunday, but he was dropped to No. 8 for Tuesday against left-handed Son. That decision by manager Park Jin-min paid immediate dividends with Kim's second homer in as many games.

The Lions tagged on another run in the bottom third with a combination of a Diaz single and a Twins error.

Lewin Diaz rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run during Game 2 of the second round of KBO playoffs between the LG Twins and Samsung Lions at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

With Lee Sung-gyu at first, Diaz lined a base hit to right field corner. Lee came all the way around to score when second baseman Shin Min-jae dropped a relay throw from right field Hong Chang-ki, who was charged with the error on the play.

The Lions doubled their lead with their second homer of the game. With a runner on, Kim Hun-gon took new pitcher You Young-chan deep to left field for a two-run blast that put the Lions up 5-1 in the bottom fifth.

Diaz joined the party to begin the bottom sixth, when he greeted reliever Ham Deok-ju with a solo home run to right field to give the Lions a 6-1 lead. This was also Diaz's second homer of this series.

The Lions kept swinging the hot bat. With a runner on in the seventh, Kim Hun-gon homered for his second straight at-bat, a two-run shot off Kim Yu-yeong that increased the Lions' lead to 8-1.

Two batters later, Diaz also smacked his second homer in as many at-bats, as his solo blast off Baek Seung-hyeon turned this into a 9-1 contest.

Kim Seong-yoon's RBI single rounded out the scoring for the Lions at 10-1.

The Twins pushed back a little bit with two home runs in the top ninth, a solo shot by Park Hae-min and a three-run homer by Kim Hyun-soo, but couldn't get any closer.

LG Twins players watch from the dugout during Game 2 of the second round of KBO playoffs between the LG Twins and Samsung Lions at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

The Twins created some early traffic on the bases against Won but failed to bring runners home. In the second inning, a single, a walk and a sacrifice bunt put runners at second and third for the Twins, but Won wiggled out of that jam with a strikeout and a flyout.

Won then pitched around a leadoff walk in the third inning and survived a scare when a towering fly by Austin Dean was caught on the warning track, just in front of the wall in left.

Won pitched his first clean inning in the fourth and retired the side in order again in the fifth.

The Twins loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh, and reliever Kim Yun-su got Austin Dean to ground out to shortstop to end that threat.

"We built the early momentum thanks to our power hitting," Lions manager Park Jin-man said. "Then Kim Hun-gon's home run really turned the tide. I thought about lifting him for a pinch hitter in the fifth, but I saw that he was getting his timing down. And he rose to the occasion there."

Otherwise, Park said he was not in the mood to celebrate the victory, because Koo, who led the club in most major offensive categories in the regular season, may be done for this series.

When the second round has been played in a best-of-five format, a team has gone up 2-0 on 18 previous occasions and has gone on to capture the series 15 times.

With the odds stacked against his team, Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb said he will look to turn things around at home starting Thursday.

"We dug ourselves in a hole early," Youm said. "But now that we're going home, I think we will have a chance to get back in the series."

Youm said he was particularly upset that Diaz's check swing on a 1-2 slider in the third inning was not called. Given the extra life, Diaz hit a single that led to the 3-1 run.

"I hope the umpires will have better focus during games," he said. "Umpires must not dictate the flow of the game."

Yonhap