“Cheering in the heat of the day, we will show you a good show with this heart”
The NC Dinos wrapped up a three-game midweek series with a sweep of the Lotte Giants of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League 스포츠토토 at Sajik Stadium in Busan on Wednesday, winning 8-1 in the 11th game of the season between the teams’ ‘Nakdong River Rivalry’.
NC’s starting pitcher, Taylor Widener, was on the verge of being pulled after a string of poor outings. Head coach Kang Myung-ho had been coy about Widener. However, the right-hander threw 94 pitches, walked four, struck out eight, and allowed one run (one earned) in seven innings to earn his fourth win of the season with a Quality Start+ (three runs or less in seven innings).
At the plate, Jason Martin dazzled with a 2-for-1 performance at the plate, including a game-winning sacrifice fly, while Park Gun-woo went 3-for-4 with a double, one RBI, one run scored and one stolen base, Kwon Hee-dong went 2-for-3, Son Ah-seob went 3-for-4 with a double, one RBI, two runs scored and one stolen base, and Park Min-woo went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI.
“Our starter, Widener, pitched a great seven innings and played an important role in our victory. The bats were also crucial, converting all three of their opportunities into runs. We are always grateful to our fans for coming out and supporting us in the heat of the day. We will take this into consideration and prepare well for our home games this weekend.”
Kwon Hee-dong, who swung the bat with three hits on the day, said, “I’m happy to finish the series with a win as one point is very important. There are a lot of good hitters in front of me, so I think I was able to get into scoring position and have a three-hit game as a result,” and added, “I just want to stick to the basics every game. I’m going to try to bat as a team to try to convert runs in scoring position, and I’m going to try to focus as much as I can on defense. It’s the second half of the season, and I’m going to do my best to make sure the team makes it to fall baseball.”
Park Min-woo, who was left out of the starting lineup in the previous day’s game due to his recent batting struggles, returned to the lineup and delivered the game-winning RBI, saying, “I’m glad we won in a tough situation. Personally, my shoulder hasn’t been feeling good lately, so my batting hasn’t been great. I’m trying to balance my batting, and with the two hits today, I hope to have a good game in the future.” “I’m really grateful to the fans who came to Sajik to support me despite the hot weather, and I will prepare well to play a good game at home,” he said after the victory.