The Lotte-Hanwha game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League took place at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on the afternoon of the 16th.
It was the first home game for Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho after the dismissal of Subero. Lotte took the lead in the first inning. Leadoff hitter Kim Min-seok led off with a walk to Hanwha starter Peña and stole second base. Ahn Chi-hong followed with an RBI single for a 1-0 lead.
The score remained unchanged until the top of the eighth inning. Hanwha had a promising eighth inning. Oh Sun-jin hit a double to left field off Lotte starter Barnes to tie the game. Lotte switched pitchers from Barnes to Koo Seung-min. Hanwha also replaced the silent outfielder O’Grady with Park Jung-hyun.
Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho gave Park a bunt sign. Park bunted on the first pitch, but the ball was fouled off the third base line. The second pitch was a ball. On a 1B 1S count, Park tried to bunt again, but Koo Seung-min’s pitch hit the front of Park’s helmet. Park went down for a moment in shock, but regained his composure and walked out to first base.
Lotte Sutton requested a video review of the dead ball, and it was ruled a head shot, resulting in an automatic ejection for Seung-min Koo. As Koo Seung-min walked down to the mound, he removed his hat and politely apologized to Park Jung-hyun. 스포츠토토 Park said he was fine and the situation was resolved.
Lotte’s Koo Seung-min looks unhappy after throwing a head shot.
The game then went into extra innings as Lee Jin-young struck out against Kim Sang-soo and Jeong Eun-won hit a single against reliever Kim Won-joong.
In the top of the 10th inning, Noh Jin-hyuk hit a two-run homer to give Korea a 3-1 lead, and Kim Won-joong was followed by Kim Do-gyu on the mound to secure the win.
Meanwhile, Lotte’s Koo Seung-min pitched in relief in the ‘Nakdong River Derby’ against NC on the 23rd, becoming the 11th player in KBO history to record 10 holds in four consecutive years.