It’s not common for a team down by two runs to bunt with runners on first and second. It’s rare for a team to bunt with runners on first and second.
However, the LG Twins bunted with a two-run lead. They thought that if they could tie the game by scoring one run, they would have a chance to win.
LG scored single runs in the sixth and 먹튀검증 eighth innings to tie the game at 3-3, then scored six runs in the top of the 10th inning, including a game-winning double by Hong Chang-ki, to win 9-3 after falling behind 1-3 against the Changwon NC Dinos.
LG, which struggled to score in many of its early chances, took a 1-0 lead in the first inning before falling behind 1-3 in the bottom of the fourth thanks to Park Gun-woo’s tying solo shot and Yoon Hyung-jun’s game-winning double.
In the top of the sixth, No. 8 Park Hae-min singled to load the bases, and No. 9 Shin Min-jae tried to lay down a bunt on the first pitch. However, the ball went into the catcher’s mitt instead of the bat, resulting in a bunt-swinging strike.
Although it was a surprise bunt, it was surprising that he tried to bunt with no outs.
After Park Hae-min stole second base on the second pitch, Shin Min-jae bunted again on the third pitch. This meant runners on first and third. After the bunt was fouled off, Shin Min-jae hit a grounder in front of the first baseman to send Park Hae-min to third, and then Hong Chang-gi scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 2-3.
In the top of the eighth, Moon Bo-kyung led off with a double down the right field line, and Kim Min-sung, No. 7, laid down a sacrifice bunt from the first pitch. The plan was to make it 3-3, but the ball kept coming in and the count went to 3B. He could have waited for a walk, but Kim laid down a solid sacrifice bunt to first base on the fourth pitch to put runners on first and third. Park Hae-min followed with a single to tie the game at 3-3.
“I thought the game wasn’t going well because we didn’t score in many chances in the early innings, so I thought it was better to chase one run at a time,” said LG coach Yeom Kyung-yeop, explaining the bunt. “If we tied the game at 3-3, the opponent had already exhausted their bullpen, so the further back we went, the more advantageous our team would be, so I made the sacrifice bunt with the plan to tie the game by the ninth inning.”
The plan worked, and in the top of the 10th inning, LG scored six runs on six hits against NC’s Jeon Jae-min and Bae Min-seo to pull off the upset.
It was the result of quick situational judgment and faithful execution by the players.