Twins walk off Dinos to snap losing streak in KBO

The LG Twins walked off the NC Dinos 9-8 to snap their two-game losing slide in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on Wednesday, after ending a wildly entertaining contest in an anticlimactic fashion.

Song Chan-eui drove in the winning run with one out in the bottom ninth with a fielder’s choice groundout, sending 16,103 fans at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul into a frenzy.

The Twins improved to 41-28-2, now just a half game back of the Hanwha Eagles for first place. The Dinos dropped to 30-34-4 in eighth place.

The Twins scored first in the bottom of the first inning against rookie starter Kim Nok-won. After the game’s first two batters reached with a walk and a single, cleanup Moon Bo-gyeong cashed in the game’s first run with a sacrifice fly.

The Twins tacked on two more runs in the bottom second, with Shin Min-jae’s two-out RBI single and a bases-loaded walk by Moon.

The Dinos punched back with two runs in the top third. They loaded the bases with two singles and a walk against starter Yonny Chirinos, and Park Min-woo’s broken-bat single to center plated two runs.

The Dinos then pulled ahead in the top fourth, thanks to three straight two-out hits — Kim Ju-won’s single followed by Kwon Hui-dong’s double and then Park Min-woo’s single giving them a 5-3 lead.

The Twins got a run back in the bottom fourth, when Moon hit an RBI groundout with the bases loaded.

But the Dinos answered in the top fifth, with Kim Hyung-jun’s single restoring their two-run lead at 6-4.

That lead didn’t last long, though, as the Twins put up a four-spot in the bottom fifth to grab an 8-6 lead.

They loaded the bases with three consecutive singles against reliever Lee Jun-hyeok. The next pitcher, Lim Jung-ho, walked Park Hae-min to push in a run that cut the Dinos’ lead to 6-5.

Shin Min-jae then smoked a two-run single up the middle for a 7-6 Twins lead. Three batters later, Moon’s sacrifice fly made it an 8-6 game. It was Moon’s fourth RBI without the benefit of a hit, a KBO record.

The Dinos were not done.

They made it 8-7 with Seo Ho-cheol’s sacrifice fly in the top sixth, before Choi Jeong-won, who had entered the game in the sixth as a pinch runner, tied the score in the top eighth with a combination of his speed and sloppy defense.

After hitting a one-out single, Choi stole second base and then advanced to third after catcher Park Dong-won’s throw skipped into the center field. And when center fielder Park Hae-min’s throw to third also went off target, Choi sprinted home to score the tying run.

It set the stage for the Twins’ heroics in the bottom ninth.

With runners at the corners, Son, who’d entered the game in the eighth as a defensive replacement, hit a grounder at shortstop Kim Ju-won. It could have been an inning-ending double play, but Kim bobbled the ball and could only get the force out. Park Hae-min, the runner at third, came home to end the game at 9-8.

The teams combined for 24 hits, and the pitchers issued 17 walks.

Eight players had multihit games, with the Twins’ leadoff man Shin Min-jae going 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored and two walks.

“This was an important game, and our players stayed focused from the first inning to the ninth inning,” Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb said. “Shin Min-jae played an important role for the offense with his three hits and three RBIs. Our relievers covered some big innings to pull out this win.”