(LEAD) LG Twins beat Lotte Giants in extra innings for 3rd straight KBO win

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By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, June 12 (Yonhap) -- The LG Twins walked off on the Lotte Giants 3-2 in 10 innings on Friday, extending their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) winning streak to three games while ending the Giants' run at six.

Veteran second baseman Jeong Keun-woo scored the tying run in the bottom eighth and then drove in the winning run in the bottom 10th at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. The Twins improved to 21-12, while the Giants fell to 17-16.

Chae Eun-seong began LG's 10th-inning rally with a double off Lotte reliever Park Jin-hyung. Pinch runner Jung Ju-hyeon moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, and Lee Sung-woo drew a walk to put the men at the corners for Jeong.

Jeong then drove a 2-1 pitch to right-center gap to end the game.

The Twins were held to just one hit and one run against Lotte starter Dan Straily through seven innings, before Jeong jolted life back into his club with his feet in the eighth while his team was trailing 2-1.

Jeong drew a one-out walk, and then stole second base. He quickly got up and sprinted to third on a wild pitch in the same sequence.

On the very next pitch, Yoo Kang-nam's single brought Jeong home to tie the game at 2-2.

The Giants struck first in the top of the first, with Dixon Machado delivering a two-out RBI single. It was the Giant's third single of the first inning against LG starter Tyler Wilson.

Ji Seong-jun doubled the Giants' lead with a two-out single in the top third.

The Twins tried to rally in the bottom third but only managed to score one run after putting men at second and third with one out. That came courtesy of Lee Chun-woong's sacrifice fly.

Kim Hyun-soo stepped in with a man still at second, but he flied out to shallow center to end the inning.

The Giants, too, squandered a scoring opportunity in the top fourth, as they failed to take advantage of Wilson's shaky control.

Two walks and a single loaded the bases with one out for An Chi-hong, who flied out to shallow left, not deep enough for Han Dong-hee to come home from third.

Then cleanup Lee Dae-ho struck out swinging on four pitches.

The missed opportunity bit the Giants in the end. They also had a chance to reclaim the lead in the top ninth. But with runners at first and second with two outs, Lee Dae-ho struck out looking on three pitches against reliever Jung Woo-young.

Jeong, a 37-year-old veteran who has been splitting second base duty with Jung Ju-hyeon, came into Friday's game having gone hitless in his last 15 at-bats.

"I really wanted to bust out of the slump with the walk-off hit tonight," Jeong said. "I was hoping to have a chance to win the game. And I felt pretty calm when I got into the batter's box."

After Thursday's double header, most of the Twins players had only some light workout before Friday's game. Jeong was one of the first batters to show up and take swings in the cage.

"I've been getting a little jumpy at the plate," Jeong said. "But I've been practicing hard, and I knew I would come around soon enough."

The Giants wasted a gem by Straily, who faced just two over the minimum through seven innings while needing just 81 pitches. He retired the side in order on nine pitches in the fifth, 10 pitches in the sixth and seven pitches in the seventh.

Straily was lifted after giving up the game-tying single to Yoo. He pitched a season-high 7 1/3 innings and struck out seven. The hard-luck pitcher remained at 1-2 and his ERA is a tidy 2.08 after eight starts.

The Twins were missing cleanup hitter Roberto Ramos, who was placed on the injured list earlier Friday with ankle and back problems. Ramos is the league leader in home runs with 13.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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