On the first day of August, the leader, LG, beat Kiwoom and ran 5 consecutive victories.
In a home game against Kiwoom held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 1st, LG won 4-2 with starting pitcher Lim Chan-gyu pitching in 5 2/3 innings and Moon Bo-kyung’s two-run home run in the bottom of the 3rd inning. With a record of 54 wins, 2 draws, and 33 losses, LG expanded its lead over 3.5 games against SSG Landers (50 wins, 1 draw, 36 losses), which was in second place, which was defeated by KT on the day, and established a solo lead system.
The main character of LG’s victory was Moon Bo-gyeong, who is running decisive home runs every day in hot weather.
Moon Bo-kyung, who started as the third hitter and third baseman, pulled Kiwoom starter McKinney’s 7th pitch changeup from 2 out 2 at the end of the 3rd inning, trailing 0-1, and fired a two-run gun that went over the right fence. Even in a situation where the timing was taken away and the center of the body was disturbed, he hit the ball exactly in the center of the bat and made a big hit.
Moon Bo-gyeong, who hit just two home runs until June, has been hitting home runs every day since the end of July when the heatwave began in earnest. In the match against KT on the 27th of last month, he hit a two-run home run in the third inning against Cuevas, and in the match against Doosan on the 28th, he hit a three-run home run in the third inning against ace Alcantara. Coincidentally, Moon Bo-kyung also added a two-run home run that became the final blow in the third inning.
Moon Bo-kyung showed a fighting spirit by following Hyung-jong Lee’s batted ball to the end and catching it when the bases were loaded with two runs in the defense in the top of the 8th inning with a 4-2 lead.
LG starting pitcher Lim Chan-gyu harvested his 7th win (2 losses) with 5 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts and 2 runs in 5 and 2/3 innings. Finisher Ko Woo-seok, who took the mound in the 8th inning with two outs and bases loaded, won his 8th save with a scoreless score in 1 1/3 innings.
Doosan, which fell into a swamp of 5 consecutive losses by losing all 3 matches against LG over the weekend, escaped the losing streak by beating Hanwha 8-3 amidst a good fight by local ace Gwak Bin.
Kwak Bin kept the mound firmly, striking out as many as 10 while giving up 1 run with only 2 hits and 2 walks in 7 innings.
In the other line, Yang Seok-Hwan and Yang Eui-Ji’s ‘Yang-Yang Duo’ wielded a fire bat. Yang Seok-hwan turned the game around with a two-run home run in the top of the second inning when the score was trailing 0-1. In the 8th inning, with a narrow lead of 2-1, Eui-Ji Yang hit a two-run homer against Jae-Min Kang. In the 8th inning, Doosan won a sweeping victory by scoring 6 points with Kim Jae-ho’s sweeping double and Sue-bin’s timely double.
Hanwha starter Moon Dong-ju threw relatively well with 5 hits and 2 runs in 5 innings, but allowed Yang Seok-hwan to hit the final home run in the 2nd inning and suffered his 7th loss (6 wins) of the season.
In Suwon, KT defeated SSG 8-0 and continued its upward trend. KT, who overcame the sluggishness in the early stages and returned to a 50% win rate, achieved a complete victory on this day as starting pitcher Koh Young-pyo pitched 8 scoreless innings, while the other line also sent strength. It’s the last 4 wins in a row.
NC won 6-3 after a close match that went to the 11th overtime in the Sajik game in Busan. In the top of the 11th inning when the score was tied 3-3, NC took a lead by one point with Yoon Hyung-jun’s timely hit in the chance with a run and bases loaded in the top of the 11th inning. Soon after, Park Sae-hyeok’s sacrifice fly and Kim Joo-won’s lucky hit ended the long game with two more points added. NC, which recently ended its 3-game losing streak, maintained its 4th place with 44 wins, 1 draw and 42 losses. On the other hand, Lotte fell into a quagmire of four consecutive losses.꽁머니지급
In Pohang, KIA won 11-8 against the lowest-ranking Samsung at the end of a slugfest, exchanging 29 hits, and won four consecutive victories. KIA tied the game with a timely hit by pinch hitter Ko Jong-wook in the beginning of the 8th inning, when it was trailing 6-7, and soon after, Choi Won-joon hit 2 RBIs and turned the game around. KIA won a come-from-behind victory by making a big inning that only yielded 5 points in the 8th inning.