The LG Twins and NC Dinos played a three-game weekend series that was full of unexpected events. In addition to the pregame police presence, LG pitcher Lim Chan-gyu was ejected for a head shot in the first inning, and NC Dinos manager Kang Mi-won was ejected for protesting a call in the bottom of the third inning, emptying his bench. In the fourth inning, NC pitcher Ahn Jung-yeol collapsed due to injury while running to first base. It was “chaos of chaos.
The NC Dinos won their 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League home game against the LG Twins 5-3 on April 27 at NC Park in Changwon. With the win, NC completed a three-game sweep of LG, improving to 55 wins, 49 losses, and two ties with three straight victories. LG, on the other hand, has lost three straight games and now has 65 wins, 41 losses, and two draws. They are in first place in the league standings.
NC starter Choi Sung-young earned his fifth win of the season (1-0) with five hits, one walk, two strikeouts and two runs (two earned) over six innings. He threw 68 pitches. He threw a mix of 32 fastballs, 21 sliders, and 15 changeups, with his fastball topping out at 141 mph. He threw 45 strikes. There were 23 balls. Kim Young-gyu pitched one scoreless inning, Lim Jung-ho pitched one scoreless inning, Ryu Jin-wook pitched ⅔ inning, and Lee Yong-chan pitched one and a third scoreless innings to secure the win. For the NC bats, which totaled 12 hits, Park Min-woo went 5-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs, while Son Ah-seop went 4-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs.
For LG, starter Lim Chan-kyu was unceremoniously ejected after two innings, giving up one run (one earned) on two hits and one hit-by-pitch. Choi Dong-hwan then pitched two innings, Park Myung-geun one inning (one run), Baek Seung-hyun one inning (two runs), Jung Woo-young two innings (one run), Yoo Young-chan one inning, and Kim Jin-sung one inning. LG’s offense was limited to seven scattered hits, led by Park Hae-min with three and Hong Chang-ki with two.
It was an epic three-game series between the LG Twins and NC Dinos. A lot has happened throughout the series. On the 25th, LG starter Choi Won-tae was blown up for 11 runs on 15 hits in 4 innings, resulting in a 1-14 loss. It was such an unusual game that LG, which has been in first place this season, effectively surrendered early. “I apologize to the fans who traveled to support us,” Yoon said before the next day’s game. On the 26th, LG seemed to be on track for a three-run victory until the bottom of the ninth inning. However, NC’s Park Gun-woo’s bat hit the heel of second base umpire Yoon Sang-won, and the game that seemed to be over was replayed with a “ball dead” call. The result was NC’s 7-5 come-from-behind victory. NC coach Kang Myung-hwa said, “I praise the concentration of the players who didn’t give up until the end,” and Yeom said before the game on the 27th, “I talked to the coaches until the high-five, and it happened. I’ll forget about the past.” To make matters worse, police patrolled the stadium ahead of the 27th game. “An online community had posted about the referees and their parents the day before. The police became aware of it early this morning, and four detectives from the Masan East Police Station were dispatched.” A KBO official also told Star News, “We completely excluded the umpires from the referee assignments for the day in case of any safety incidents.”
Police officers patrol Changwon NC Park on the 27th. /Photo by Kim Woo-jong
LG Twins vs NC Dinos starting lineup (August 27 @ Changwon NC Park, 8771 fans in attendance)
The LG Twins started the game with Hong Chang-ki (right fielder), Shin Min-jae (second baseman), Kim Min-sung (first baseman), Austin (designated hitter), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Moon Bo-kyung (third baseman), Park Dong-won (catcher), Moon Sung-joo (left fielder), and Park Hae-min (center fielder). It was the same lineup as the day before. The starting pitcher was Im Chan-kyu. Kim Hyun-soo, who missed two consecutive days due to a high fever, returned to the field and started the game from the bench. Before the game, Yeom said, “I will focus more on the rest of the game rather than thinking about the past,” and said that Plutko, who pitched only four innings the previous day due to adductor (inner thigh muscle) soreness, “has no major problems. He requested a substitution while pitching the previous day. He will undergo a medical examination in Seoul on the 28th.”
In response, the NC Dinos organized their starting batting order as follows: Son Ah-seop (designated hitter), Park Min-woo (second base), Park Gun-woo (right field), Martin (center field), Kwon Hee-dong (left field), Do Tae-hoon (first base), Seo Ho-cheol (third base), Kim Joo-won (shortstop), and Ahn Jung-yeol (catcher). The same lineup as the day before. Choi Sung-young was the starting pitcher. Before the game, Kang commented on the situation after the second out of the ninth inning, saying, “I didn’t see the ball hit the umpire. I didn’t recognize the runner either. However, when Shin Min-jae made the glove catch while changing direction at the same time, I thought it was an irregular boundary.” “The team was able to play without any injuries,” he said.
1~3 innings (first half): LG’s Lim Chan-kyu ejected for a head shot, NC manager Kang Myung-in protested the video review.
LG had a chance to take the lead in the first inning when Hong Chang-ki led off with a single to left-center and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Shin Min-jae. However, they were unable to capitalize as Kim Min-sung grounded out to shortstop and Austin flied out to right field.
In the bottom of the inning. Lim Chan-kyu faced Son Ah-seop, with whom he has a close friendship. The first pitch was a curveball. In the second inning, Lim’s changeup (131 mph) made Son miss his bat big time. With the count at 0-2, Im gained the advantage. The third pitch was another changeup, but it was foul. And the fourth pitch. This time, a low, well-delivered curveball from Im was caught off balance by Son, who smashed it to right field. With Son’s victory ending the first matchup, the next at-bat was highly anticipated, but it was not to be. Lim gave up a single to right-center to Park Min-woo, putting runners on first and third. The next batter was Park Gun-woo. 카지노 Im’s 144-kilometer fastball was aimed at Park’s head and hit the right side of his helmet. Park collapsed to the ground as soon as he was hit. Luckily, Park got up a few moments later, and Chan-kyu Lim, who had removed his hat, approached him, bowed and immediately apologized. It was the 24th ejection of the season and the 10th headshot ejection. An NC official later commented on Park’s condition, saying, “There is nothing unusual other than a little dizziness as a result of the checkup.” Choi Dong-hwan was the next pitcher to come out of the bases-loaded jam. Choi gave up a single to Martin as soon as he stepped on the mound, but he got Kwon Hee-dong to foul out to the catcher and then got Do Tae-hoon to pop out to first base to end the first inning without further damage.
LG Lim Chan-kyu.
NC Park Gun-woo.
In the top of the second inning, NC’s Choi Sung-young struck out the LG batting order, and in the bottom of the inning, Choi Dong-hwan struck out the NC batting order. And in the third inning. This time, the commander-in-chief was ejected. LG started the inning with back-to-back singles by Park Hae-min and Hong Chang-ki to put runners on first and third. The next batter, Shin Min-jae, hit the ball short in the outfield and was caught by Park Min-woo. The inning ended when Hong Chang-ki, who failed to make it back to first base, grounded out to end the inning. But then something happened. It was ruled that Park Hae-min had touched home plate before Hong Chang-ki was thrown out at first base, allowing LG to score the tying run. NC manager Kang Myung-ho requested a video review and was ejected for protesting the outcome. This was the 25th ejection in the KBO this season. It was the 11th ejection of a manager this season, and the ninth for protesting a video review.
In the bottom of the third inning, LG tied the game at one. NC immediately got one run back. Against LG’s third pitcher, Park Myung-geun, Son Asub and Park Min-woo hit back-to-back singles to put runners on second and third with no outs. Yoon Hyung-jun, who had been substituted for Park earlier in the inning, followed with a sacrifice fly to left field.(2-1)
4th-6th inning: NC pitcher Ahn Jung-yeol makes an unexpected injury substitution
In the top of the fourth inning, Choi Sung-young was still on the mound, and he retired Kim Min-seong on a line drive to shortstop, Austin on a fly ball to left field, and Oh Ji-hwan on a strikeout. And in the bottom of the fourth inning. NC scored another two runs. LG pulled Park Myung-geun and replaced him with Baek Seung-hyun. After back-to-back singles by Seo Ho-cheol and Kim Joo-won, Ahn Jung-yeol tried to lay down a sacrifice bunt to third base, but was thrown out at the plate. In the process, Ahn went down holding his thigh before reaching first base. It was an injury. Ahn Jung-yeol could no longer play and was helped off the field by a trainer. An NC official said, “He was replaced due to discomfort in his right adductor muscle while running the bases. He is currently undergoing icing treatment.” In the next inning, Son As-seop drew a walk to put runners on first and second, and Park Min-woo hit a two-run double over the head of Moon Sung-joo in left field (4-1).
In the fifth inning, NC put on a catcher’s mask with Kim Hyung-jun replacing the injured Ahn Jung-yeol. Choi Sung-young worked well with the new catcher, but the offense gained more momentum with a triple. In the bottom of the fifth, LG’s pitcher was Jung Woo-young. NC had a chance to score one out later when Kwon Hee-dong led off with an infield single and Do Tae-hoon singled, but Seo Ho-cheol flied out to shortstop.
In the top of the sixth, LG struck again. With runners on first and second after a leadoff double by Park Hae-min and a walk by Shin Min-jae, Austin lined a double down the left field line (4-2), but Oh Ji-hwan retired the tying run on a deep outfield fly. And the bottom of the sixth inning. NC struck again to end LG’s chase. Two batters later, Jung Woo-young gave up an infield single to Son As-seob and then committed a balk on Park Min-woo’s subsequent at-bat. Son advanced to second on the play, and Park Min-woo singled up the middle.(5-2)
NC Choi Sung-young.
7th to 9th innings (second half): LG’s onslaught, NC’s 1⅓-inning save by Lee Yong-chan ‘ties the game’
In the top of the seventh inning, NC pulled Choi Sung-young, who had pitched well, and started utilizing its bullpen. The second pitcher Kim Young-gyu struck out Moon Bo-kyung on a wild pitch, Park Dong-won on a fly ball to center field, and Moon Sung-joo on a grounder to shortstop. In the bottom of the seventh, LG brought in Yoo Young-chan in place of Jung Woo-young. Two batters later, Yoo gave up a double to Do Tae-hoon in right field and a walk to Seo Ho-chul to put runners on first and second, but he struck out Kim Ju-won on four pitches.
In the top of the eighth inning, LG had another chance to catch up. With pitcher Lim Jung-ho on the mound, Park Hae-min led off with a bunt single to first base, and Hong Chang-ki followed with a single to center field to put runners on first and second. NC then switched pitchers to Ryu Jin-wook. The next batter, Shin Min-jae, hit a ball that landed in front of the catcher, and Kim Hyung-joon made the catch and threw to third base without delay to get the lead runner. Kim Hyun-soo came to the plate for Kim Min-sung, and he hit a single to right field to bring home Hong Chang-ki, who pinch ran for the second outfielder. 5-3, two runs down. Next, Austin’s grounder to third allowed Shin Min-jae to rush home, and at the same time, NC third baseman Seo Ho-chul was called out at home plate. LG requested a video review, but the call was not overturned. In the next at-bat by Oh Ji-hwan, a wild pitch allowed the runners to advance. LG manager Yoon Kyung-yeop protested, but the umpires didn’t listen. In the end, Oh struck out. With two outs, NC sent their ‘closer’ Lee Yong-chan to the mound. The next batter was Moon Bo-kyung, who ended up being the winner. He got Moon to ground out to second base to put out the fire.
In the eighth inning, LG’s pitcher was Kim Jin-sung. He gave up a leadoff single to Kim Hyung-jun. Pinch-hitter Park Young-bin entered the game. Son As-seob laid down a sacrifice bunt, but Kim Jin-sung threw to second to end the threat. He then induced Park Min-woo to fly out in front of the second baseman to end the eighth inning. And the top of the ninth. LG’s last offense. It was still NC pitcher Lee Yong-chan, and he got Park Dong-won to fly out to first base, Moon Sung-joo to ground out to the pitcher, and Park Hae-min to strike out swinging to end the LG sweep. Winning pitcher Choi Sung-young (5-1). Losing pitcher Park Myung-geun (4-2, 5 saves). Saving pitcher Lee Yong-chan (4-3, 19 saves).
After the game, ‘Seungjang’ head coach Kang In-hwa said, “We were able to win because all the players stayed focused and wanted to win until the end. I would like to thank the fans for their support throughout the weekend. We will prepare well to continue our good form next week.”