The worries about Lee Jung-hoo were unfounded. After an early slump, Lee (25-KIUM) surpassed the .300 mark for the first time this season. In six plate appearances against KT and Suwon on Nov. 11, Lee went 100 percent (4-for-4) with two 스포츠토토 walks, a double, a triple, and a single. For the season, he is batting .304 (70-for-230). Lee was hitting just .266 through May, but he’s been on fire in June, going 19-for-38 with five home runs. Behind Lee’s performance, Kiwoom has outscored their opponents 14-5. Lee was recently named to the Korean National Team for the Hangzhou Asian Games. This is his sixth Taeguk mark. He hasn’t missed an international tournament since turning pro in 2017. “I’ll be meeting a lot of players from other sports, and I’m determined to set an example for the national baseball team,” he said, seemingly conscious of the current tumultuous atmosphere in Korea.
Leader SSG lost 4-8 to NC, which has been on a recent upswing. SSG has lost four straight games this season, but this is the first time they have lost a three-game series to a single team. SSG starter Kim Kwang-hyun (35) took the mound for the first time since the WBC sobriety scandal, but struggled with four runs in four and one-third innings. NC has won five in a row to improve to 31-24, pushing Lotte out of fourth place and into sole possession of third place. Lotte lost to Samsung 4-6 in extra innings after getting a game-tying two-run homer from Kang Min-ho (38). It’s the first time Lotte has finished lower than third in the standings in 47 days, since April 25 (No. 4). Second-place LG (34 W, 23 L, 2 T) beat last-place Hanwha 13-7 to cut the gap to first-place SSG (35 W, 21 L, 1 T) to 1.5 games. Fifth-place Doosan defeated KIA 3-2. Starter Kwak Bin (24) earned his fourth win of the season with six innings of two-run ball.