In the history of professional baseball’s two-day game, the Lotte Giants have taken an indispensable stake.
Lotte won 14-11 against Hanwha Eagles in Game 11 of the “2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League” regular season at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 29th. Lotte marked the winning series of three consecutive Hanwha games.안전놀이터
The game was a chaotic mess and a rough game. The two teams exchanged 38 hits and 14 pitchers including the starting pitcher came to the mound in a hurry. The game also included a 68-minute rain stop after the bottom of the third inning.
Lotte took the lead in the game as the team exploded its batting lineup early on. However, Hanwha kept pace with the team. This reporter confirmed the potential of “Blue Hanwha.” In fact, Hanwha coach Kim Kyung-moon has gradually excluded players who are included in the starting lineup from the fifth inning. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Moon Hyun-bin replaced second baseman Hwang Young-mook while Ha Joo-seok replaced Lee Do-yoon played pinch hitter in the top of the sixth inning, while Euro Gyeol replaced Kim Tae-yeon in the bottom of the sixth inning. In the top of the seventh inning, Kim In-hwan appeared as pinch hitter instead of Chae Eun-seong
Lotte’s batters diligently ran away and bombed the Hanwha mound. However, the mound also exploded at the same time. Notably, the team had a 14-5 lead until the end of the sixth inning, solidifying its spirit of victory. However, the Lotte mound failed to keep the score of nine points. After starting pitcher Aaron Wilkerson allowed three runs in five innings, Kim Kang-hyun, Han Hyun-hee, Lim Joon-seop, Park Jin and Pilseung Group Koo Seung-min showed up for just two innings from the sixth to the seventh inning. They allowed as many as seven runs during two innings from the sixth to the seventh inning, making the batter’s box explode completely meaningless. They were chased by 14-10.
The game’s direction was so unpredictable that closing pitcher Kim Won-joong caused a crisis with one out in the ninth inning. He allowed one run to block the game, but only took more than 20 minutes in the top of the ninth inning and passed midnight when Noh was at bat. The game ended at 0:07 p.m. The Lotte Giants and the Hanwha Eagles became the winners of the eighth no-night, two-day game.
In fact, Lotte is no stranger to two-day no-night games. Of the eight no-night, two-day games in Lotte’s history, Lotte has experienced as many as four. Notably, Lotte has played the leading role in all of the recent four no-night, two-day games. It has also achieved three consecutive wins in two-day, no-night games.
On June 12, 2008, the game between the KIA Tigers and the Woori Heroes (currently Kiwoom) in Mok-dong ended at 0:49 after midnight the next day in the 14th inning of extra time, and the two-day history of professional baseball began. The game was won by the Heroes 2-1. At that time, there was a pause in rain, including thunder and lightning. Later, on September 3, 2008, the match between Hanwha and Doosan in Jamsil continued until the 18th inning of extra time and ended at 0:22 the next day (Doosan 1-0 victory).
On May 12, 2009, the match between SK and LG held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul for the third time in the two-day, no-night stand. SK led the game 9-1 until the ninth inning, but LG miraculously tied the game with eight points in the bottom of the ninth inning, moving into extra time and exchanging one point each in the 10th inning. However, SK succeeded in scoring six points in the 12th inning, and won the game 16-10. It ended at 9:09 after midnight.
On May 21, less than 10 days later, the fourth two-day game without a beat was made. At Mudeung Stadium in Gwangju, LG and KIA were tied 13-13 until 0:29 in the 12th inning of extra time.
In 2010, the fifth no-night, two-day game was created. From then on, Lotte’s stake in the game will skyrocket. The game between the Hanwha Eagles and the Lotte Giants held at Sajik Stadium on April 9, 2010 ended at midnight. At that time, Karim Garcia, a foreign hitter at the Lotte Giants, made seven hits (one homer) in seven times at bat (six RBIs and three runs scored). Garcia’s seven hits still remain the record of the most hits in a single game in the KBO league. However, Lotte lost 14-15 on the day.
Kang Dong-woo, Oh Sun-jin, Kim Joo-chan and Jeon Jun-woo, who experienced two nights as players 14 years ago, once again joined the scene of history as coaches and players in the same place, respectively.
In 2017, about seven years later, the sixth no-night, two-day game was played. On June 27, 2017, the game between LG and Lotte at Sajik Stadium, concluded at 0:09 after midnight. It lasted until the 12th inning, and Lotte won the game 11-10. The team managed to win due to a walk-off error.