Twins pummel Eagles to take 2-0 lead in Korean Series
Moon Bo-kyung of LG Twins celebrates after hitting a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning during Game 2 of the Korean Series at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
Moon Bo-gyeong drove in five runs with a home run and a double, while teammate Park Dong-won chipped in with a homer and a double of his own for four RBIs, as the LG Twins hammered the Hanwha Eagles 13-5 on Monday to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the Korean Series.
Park's two-run double keyed a five-run second inning that erased a 4-0 deficit at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, and his two-run shot in the next inning opened up a 7-4 lead.
Moon's bases-clearing double in the bottom fourth put the game further out of the Eagles' reach, and the slugger landed the knockout punch with a two-run homer in the eighth before a full house of 23,750 fans.
Bats for both teams caught fire early on this chilly autumn night, but only the Twins stayed hot throughout the night. The Eagles scored four runs on five hits in the first inning but had just one more hit over the next eight innings.
The Eagles didn't help themselves by issuing five free passes, a day after walking six batters.
The best-of-seven Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) championship series will now shift to the Eagles' home in Daejeon, some 140 kilometers south of Seoul. Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark will host Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Thursday, and also Game 5 on Friday if necessary.
If the series goes beyond the fifth game, the Twins will host the final two games back at Jamsil on Sunday and next Monday.
A team has fallen behind 2-0 in the Korean Series on 21 previous occasions, and only the 2007 SK Wyverns and the 2013 Samsung Lions have climbed out of that hole to win the title.
The Eagles jumped starter Im Chan-kyu for four runs in the top first.
Hwang Young-mook, making his first postseason start as the new leadoff hitter, swung on the first-pitch fastball for a single. With one out, Moon Hyun-bin drilled a 2-0 changeup for a two-run home run to right field.
Just two pitches later, cleanup Roh Si-hwan hammered a fastball and struck the batter's eye in straightaway center field for a solo shot that put the Eagles up 3-0.
As the inning continued, Son Ah-seop doubled to left field, and Ha Ju-suk cashed him in with a single for a 4-0 Eagles lead.
LG Twins players celebrate after defeating the Hanwha Eagles 13-5 in Game 2 of the Korean Series at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
The Twins, however, answered with five runs on five hits and a walk off starter Ryu Hyun-jin in the bottom second.
They loaded the bases with two straight singles and a walk, and Park Dong-won smoked a double past the diving shortstop Ha Ju-suk to bring home two runners, cutting the deficit to 4-2.
Gu Bon-hyeok's follow-up single knotted the score at 4-4. Gu's comebacker to the mound deflected off Ryu's leg and rolled toward the hole on the right. Second baseman Hwang Young-mook couldn't quite make a diving grab, and two runners came home as right fielder Choi In-bo bobbled the ball.
A sacrifice bunt moved Gu to second, and Hong Chang-ki's single plated Gu to put the Twins ahead 5-4.
Park Dong-won's two-run blast extended the Twins' lead to 7-4 in the bottom third. With a runner at first, Park clobbered a middle-middle changeup from Ryu and put it into the seats in left field.
The Eagles tried to push back in the top fourth, loading the bases with two walks sandwiching an error. Im got the hook after the second free pass, handing the ball over to rookie reliever Kim Young-woo.
Kim retired Luis Liberato on a pop fly for the second out, with second baseman Shin Min-jae making an athletic diving grab over the shoulder, but Kim walked Moon Hyun-bin on five pitches to push in a run that made it a 7-5 game.
Another reliever, Kim Jin-sung, came on to put out the fire, and he did just that by striking out Roh Si-hwan to end the rally.
The Twins had their turn in loading the bases in the bottom fourth, and they capitalized big time, as Moon Bo-gyeong doubled off the top of the right-field fence to bring home all three runners for a 10-5 Twins advantage.
Things unraveled further for the Eagles in the bottom seventh. With Oh Ji-hwan at second after a leadoff double, Park Dong-won bunted toward third baseman Roh Si-hwan, whose errant throw to first allowed Oh to score the Twins' 11th run.
Moon had more left in his tank, as he smacked a two-run home run in the bottom eighth to round out the scoring and cap his four-hit, five-RBI night.
The Twins have scored 21 runs on 18 hits in two games so far.
Reliever Kim Jin-sung was credited with the win after throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings. At 40 years, seven months and 20 days old, Kim became the oldest pitcher to win a Korean Series game.
Both starters got knocked out early in abbreviated outings, despite enjoying success against their respective opponent in the regular season.
Im was charged with four earned runs on five hits, including those two first-inning dingers, in 3 1/3 innings -- his shortest start of 2025.
Ryu, making his first Korean Series start since October 2006, was shelled for seven runs on seven hits and a walk in three innings. It matched Ryu's shortest outing this year.