The Lotte Giants rode a two-hitter to their second straight win.
Lotte won 7-1 at home against the KIA Tigers at Sajik Stadium in Busan on Nov. 11 behind a strong pitching performance from Aaron Wilkerson and a big day from captain Ahn Chi-hong. Seventh-place Lotte has 46 wins and 50 losses, closing to within 1.5 games of sixth-place KIA.
Lotte manager Larry Sutton announced plans to call up foreign pitchers Wilkerson and Charlie Barnes after four days of rest.
Wilkerson, who threw a six-inning no-hitter against the SSG Landers on June 6, was up to the task again today despite the short rest, going six innings and striking out six. He struck out five and walked none on the day, utilizing his velocity to his advantage.
Wilkerson picked up his second win of the season after posting three quality starts (six innings or more and three earned runs or less) in four appearances since making his KBO debut in the second half of the season. He lowered his ERA to 1.88.
The offense took the pressure off Wilkerson by scoring in the first inning.
In the top of the first, Ahn Chi-hong hit a solo home run after a 10-pitch battle with KIA starter Panoni. After fouling off four consecutive pitches, Ahn took a 144-kilometer per hour fastball from Pannoni for a 120-meter solo home run to left field. It was his fifth home run of the season. In the second inning, Jeong Hoon hit a solo home run (his fourth of the season).
LOTTE made it 3-0 in the top of the fifth inning when Ahn Chi-hong singled and Son Sung-bin came home on an error. In the sixth inning, Kim Min-seok and Son Sung-bin hit RBI singles to make it 5-0.
KIA got one run back in the top of the seventh when Ko Jong-wook singled with two outs after Lotte’s bullpen was activated. 토토사이트
LOTTE put runners on second and third with no outs in the top of the eighth when Jung Hoon singled and Kim Min-seok grounded into an infield single. Noh Jin-hyuk’s RBI sacrifice fly and Son Sung-bin’s RBI single sealed the deal.
In a lineup that pounded out 12 hits, Ahn Chi-hong was the star of the show, going 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Son Sung-bin, who batted ninth and played catcher, also had three hits, and Kim Min-seok had a multi-hit game (two or more hits in a game).