The LG Twins have finally reached the 80-win milestone.
LG swept a doubleheader against the KT Wiz in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Jamsil Stadium on Sunday, winning game one 4-0 and then taking game two 3-0.
With its recent four-game winning streak, LG recorded 80 wins, 48 losses and two ties, extending its lead over second-place KT to 8.5 games, giving it the magic number of six regular-season wins.
Over the years, teams with 80 wins have a 94.1 percent chance of winning the regular season (16 of 17) and a 70.6 percent chance of winning the Korean Series (12 of 17).
This is the first time in 29 years that LG has reached the 80-win plateau since 1994, when they won the Korean Series.
In game one, LG got a complete game shutout from starter Casey Kelly.
After scoring one run in the fourth and fifth innings, LG added two runs in the bottom of the eighth on RBI singles by Moon Sung-ju and Park Hae-min to win the game.
With seven innings of five-hit ball, Kelly reached the 10-win plateau for the fifth straight year.
The second game was also a sweep for LG.
After starting pitcher Kim Yun-sik threw five innings of two-hit shutout ball, Lee Ji-gang, Park Myung-geun, Kim Jin-sung, and Yoo Young-chan followed suit for the second consecutive combined shutout.
LG opened the scoring in the second inning with a sacrifice fly by Oh Ji-hwan on an error, and added two runs in the fifth on a double by Heo Do-hwan and an RBI single by Park Hae-min to win 3-0.
KT was unfortunate to have to leave the game in the bottom of the second inning when Austin Dean was hit in the leg by a pitch.
KT had seven hits and one walk in game one and five hits and four walks in game two, but were swept for the second straight game.
In Changwon, the NC Dinos won game one 7-0, but the KIA Tigers won game two 6-1.
After scoring two runs in the first inning on a double by Park Gun-woo, NC took a 4-0 lead in the second inning on a two-RBI triple by Park Min-woo.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, they scored three runs on Ahn Jung-yeol’s RBI double to seal the deal.
In game two, KIA starter Lee Yi-ri pitched seven innings of three-hit ball to set the stage for the win.
KIA scored four runs on five hits in the top of the fifth inning, capitalizing on an error, and added two runs in the seventh to seal the game.
Third-place NC, which went 1-1, moved to within 1.5 games of second-place KT, which lost its second straight.
In Incheon, the SSG Landers tied the Doosan Bears 7-7 in game one before taking game two 6-3.
Doosan fell behind 0-3 in game one before scoring seven runs in the top of the seventh inning, including a grand slam by Yang Seok-hwan.
However, SSG rallied with a three-run homer by Choo Shin-soo in the bottom of the eighth, and Han Yoo-seom hit a solo shot two batters later in the ninth to draw the game to a 7-7 tie.
In game two, SSG bounced back with a big inning from starter Roenis Elias.
Trailing 0-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning, SSG went to bat and scored six runs on three hits, including two doubles, and three wild pitches to decide the game.
SSG closer Seo Jin-yong, the team’s No. 1 reliever, collected his 38th save (3-4).
He also became the first pitcher to reach 10,000 saves since the KBO’s inception in 1982.
In the best-of-seven series, the eighth- and ninth-ranked Samsung Lions won game one 11-3 and the Hanwha Eagles bounced back with a 4-0 win in game two.
Samsung rallied from a 2-3 deficit to score three runs in the top of the eighth inning, including a two-run double by Lee Jae-hyun, and then scored six runs in the top of the ninth to win the game.
Game 2 was won by Hanwha, whose starter Felix Peña pitched six innings of two-hit ball.
Hanwha took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning with a two-run homer by Park Jung-hyun and added two more runs in the eighth to tie the game. 파워볼게임