It was a late-game fireworks display.
The NC Dinos won 10-3 at home against the Samsung Lions of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League on Tuesday at NC Park in Changwon. They snapped a two-game losing streak.
Kim Joo-won hit a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning to break his slump. Kim, who was batting .188 (19-for-101) on the season, went 2-for-4 with two doubles (one home run), four RBIs and two runs scored. It was his first grand slam in 238 days since Sept. 15, 2023, against the Changwon Samsung Electronics Co. It was his fifth career grand slam.
Starting pitcher Kyle Hart was dominant, throwing seven innings of three-hit, two-run ball with nine strikeouts and 104 pitches. Seo Ui-tae followed with three scoreless innings, while Kim Jae-yeol and Han Jae-seung each pitched one scoreless inning.
Samsung starter Connor Seabold was also solid, allowing one run on four hits and two walks in five innings with eight strikeouts and 100 pitches. It was the seventh inning where the middle relievers couldn’t get over the hump. Kim Dae-woo gave up two runs in 1 inning, Choi Sung-hoon gave up two runs in ⅓ inning, Choi Ha-neul gave up two runs in 0 innings, and Yuk Sun-yeop gave up three runs in 1⅔ innings.
At the plate, Koo Ja-uk hit a three-run home run in the top of the eighth inning, but it wasn’t enough. With the home run, Gu became the 59th player in league history to reach 700 RBIs.
Starting lineup.
NC: Park Min-woo (2B)-Son As-seob (designated hitter)-Park Gun-woo (RHP)-Matt Davidson (1B)-Kwon Hee-dong (LF)-Seo Ho-cheol (3B)-Kim Hyung-joon (catcher)-Chun Jae-hwan (center fielder)-Kim Joo-won (shortstop). Starting pitcher Kyle Hart.
-Samsung: Kim Ji-chan (designated hitter)-Koo Ja-rook (left fielder)-David McKinnon (first baseman)-Kim Young-woong (third baseman)-Lee Jae-hyun (shortstop)-Kim Heon-gon (right fielder)-Ryu Ji-hyeok (second baseman)-Kang Min-ho (catcher)-Lee Sung-kyu (center fielder). Starting pitcher Connor Seabold.
Innings 1-3: Tight pitching battle
In the top of the first, Hart got Kim Ji-chan to ground out to first base on a wild pitch and then threw a wild pitch to Koo Ja-uk. Hart threw to first for a double steal, leaving the bases loaded. McKinnon flied out to right field for the third out.
Conner got Park Min-woo to fly out to left and Son 안전놀이터 Asub to fly out to right in the bottom of the inning before giving up a single to left-center to Park Gun-woo. Davidson followed with a fly ball to left field.
In the top of the second inning, Hart got a triple play. He got Kim Young-woong to ground out to the pitcher, Lee Jae-hyun to strike out swinging, and Kim Heon-gon to ground out to short.
In the bottom of the second, Conner gave up a single to right-center to Seo Ho-chul after Kwon Hee-dong grounded out to third. A wild pitch put runners in scoring position. He struck out Kim Hyung-joon on a wild pitch and Lee Jae-hwan on a swinging strikeout.
Hart was also in trouble in the top of the third. After Ryu Ji-hyuk grounded out to second, he gave up a double to left-center to Kang Min-ho. With two outs, he struck out Lee Sung-gyu on a wild pitch and Kim Ji-chan on a fly ball to left field.
In the bottom of the inning, Conner struck out Kim Joo-won on a wild pitch before giving up a 10-pitch walk to Park Min-woo. Son As-seob singled and Park stole second to load the bases. Park struck out Park Gun-woo on a wild pitch to end the scoreless streak.
Innings 4-6: NC’s One Step Ahead
In the top of the fourth inning, Koo reached on a throwing error by shortstop Kim Joo-won. McKinnon grounded into a double play, shortstop to second baseman to first baseman. Park Min-woo popped out to second baseman Hoseby. With the bases loaded, Kim Young-woong grounded out to first base.
In the bottom of the fourth, after Davidson was hit by a pitch and Kwon Hee-dong grounded out to center field, Seo Ho-cheol singled up the middle. Kim Hyung-joon struck out looking to end the inning.
In the top of the fifth, Lee Jae-hyun reached first base on a throwing error by third baseman Seo Ho-cheol. Kim Heon-gon and Ryu Ji-hyuk struck out swinging and Kang Min-ho struck out looking.
NC scored a valuable run in the bottom of the fifth inning. After a swinging strikeout by Jeon Jae-hwan and a three-pitch swinging strikeout by Kim Joo-won, Park Min-woo walked on a wild pitch. Son As-seob hit a huge single over the left-field fence. Koo Ja-uk 파워볼실시간 made a jumping catch in front of the fence but was unsuccessful. Son celebrated with a roar, giving his team a 1-0 lead. Park Gun-woo grounded out to second base.
In the top of the sixth, Hart retired Lee Sung-gyu on a grounder to shortstop, Kim Ji-chan on a wild pitch, and Koo Ja-uk on a foul fly to third base.
Samsung switched pitchers in the bottom of the sixth to Kim Dae-woo in the corner. Davidson struck out on a three-pitch wild pitch and Kwon walked to load the bases. Kim retired Seo Ho-chul on a foul fly to right field and Kim Hyung-joon on a groundout to short.
Innings 7-9: NC’s Big, Big, Big Inning
In the top of the seventh, McKinnon singled, Kim Young-woong struck out on a wild pitch and Lee Jae-hyun walked to load the bases. Kim hit an infield single to the second baseman. Park Min-woo fields it well, but loses the ball when he tries to throw it out. Ryu Ji-hyuk singled to left to load the bases. Hart induced a grounder to shortstop to Kang Min-ho to get out of the jam.
NC scored nine runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to take the lead for good. Oh Young-soo, pinch-hitting for Jae-hwan, singled to center and Kim Joo-won singled to right to put runners on first and second. Samsung changed pitchers from Kim Dae-woo to Choi Sung-hoon. Oh Young-soo pinch-hit for Kim Sung-wook, who stole third, and Park Min-woo singled to center, scoring Musa. Son As-seob hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score another run. A throwing error by catcher Kang Min-ho allowed Park to take second base.
Samsung walked Park to load the bases and brought in pitcher Choi Ha-neul. With one out, Davidson singled home a run. It was 3-0. Kwon Hee-dong made it 4-0 with an RBI single to center.
Samsung switched pitchers again to Yook Sun-yup. Seo Ho-cheol singled to center field to make it 5-0. This time, he removed catcher Kang Min-ho and replaced him with Lee Byung-heon. Kim Hyung-joon singled to center, 6-0. After Kim Sung-wook struck out on a three-pitch wild pitch to load the bases, Kim Joo-won stepped to the plate.
Kim took a four-pitch, 139 km/h slider from Yuk Sun-yup and launched it over the right-field wall. The ball traveled 120 meters for a grand slam. It was his third of the season and made it 10-0. After Park Min-woo doubled to left-center, Son As-seob grounded out to first base to end the long inning.
In the top of the eighth, NC brought in pitcher Seo Eui-tae in place of Hart. Lee Sung-gyu walked and Kim Ji-chan pinch-hit for Kim Hyun-joon to put runners on first and second. Koo Ja-ook followed with a three-pitch, 127 km/h slider from Seo. It was a three-run homer, a 110-meter shot. His seventh home run of the season made it 3-10.
NC sent pitcher Jae-yeol Kim to the mound. He struck out McKinnon’s replacement, Kim Sung-yoon, on three pitches, walked Kim Young-woong, and struck out Lee Jae-hyun on a wild pitch.
Samsung turned to Yook Sun-yup in the bottom of the eighth. Choi Jung-won singled to left, Davidson struck out on a wild pitch, Kwon Hee-dong grounded out to first, and Seo Ho-chul walked to put runners on first and second. Kim Hyung-joon grounded out to second base.
In the top of the ninth, NC’s final pitcher was Han Jae-seung. He got Kim Heon-gon to fly out to left, Ryu Ji-hyuk to ground out to shortstop, and Lee Byung-heon to ground out to third.