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LG Twins Pitch Shutout To Force Game Four 

 Daniel Fox - World Baseball Network  |    Oct 17th, 2024 1:00pm EDT

After allowing 20 runs over the first two games of the series, the LG Twins pitching staff rebounded to shut out the red-hot Samsung Lions bats and secure a 1-0 win. The victory extended the Twins season by at least one more day and forced game four on Friday.  

Even as they trailed 2-0 in the best-of-five series, the Twins had two things working in their favor. The first is that the series shifted back to Jamsil Baseball Stadium, whose cavernous elements played to their pitching staff’s advantage. They also could finally give the ball to ace Im Chang-kyu. The 31-year-old right-hander helped pitch the Twins to the second round by allowing just two runs in two appearances in the prior series against the KT Wiz.   

True to form, Im would deliver. He would shut down the streaking Lion bats over 5.1 innings, allowing just three hits and striking out four. With one out in the sixth, the Twins turned to one of their other pitching stalwarts. Elieser Hernandez picked up right where he left off against the Wiz, appearing in all five games without allowing a run. In this contest, Hernandez would pitch 2.1 shutout innings of relief, including striking out the side in the top of the ninth to finish the 1-0 victory. 

While their pitching staff dominated, the Twins’ offense failed to capitalize on opportunities early on. Moon Bo-gyeong was stranded on third on base with one out in the second inning, while a single and walk in the fourth inning didn’t result in anything either. They finally broke through in the fifth, as Hong Chang-ki’s fly ball to left was just deep enough to score Park Dong-won with what turned out to be the game’s only run. 

With their backs still against the wall, the Twins will look to stave off elimination one more time and force the series back to Daegu Samsung Lions Park for a winner-take-all game five. They will hand the ball to left-hander Dietrich Enns, who was initially supposed to pitch earlier in the series but was pushed back after a rainout. The Lions will counter with game one starter Denyi Reyes, who will be pitching on four days’ rest after allowing just one run over 6.2 innings on Sunday. The first pitch of game four will be Friday at 5:30 a.m. EST. 

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WBN KBO: https://worldbaseball.com/league/south-korea/

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Daniel Fox - World Baseball Network