The Dinosaur Corps claimed their first victory in the exhibition game with overwhelming firepower. The powerful second hitter Kim Joo-won, who is drawing attention in the United States, shone with a long hit.
The NC Dinos won 7-2 against the Kiwoom Heroes in the second exhibition game held on the 9th at Changwon NC Park.
NC avenged the loss suffered to Kiwoom the previous day, recording 1 win and 1 loss in the exhibition games. This was the unofficial first victory for the new manager Lee Ho-jun. Kiwoom also ended up with 1 win and 1 loss.
The home team NC faced off against Kiwoom's starting pitcher Kenny Rosenberg with a lineup consisting of Park Min-woo (second baseman), Kim Joo-won (shortstop), Son Ah-seop (right fielder), Matt Davidson (first baseman), Park Gun-woo (center fielder), Kwon Hee-dong (designated hitter), Seo Ho-cheol (third baseman), Kim Hyung-jun (catcher), and Cheon Jae-hwan (left fielder).
In response, Kiwoom faced NC's starting pitcher Riley Thompson with Yasiel Puig (left fielder), Ruben Cardenas (right fielder), Lee Ju-hyung (center fielder), Song Seong-mun (second baseman), Choi Joo-hwan (first baseman), Kim Dong-yeob (designated hitter), Jeon Tae-hyun (third baseman), Kim Keon-hee (catcher), and Kim Tae-jin (shortstop).
From the first point, NC took the lead. In the bottom of the first inning, lead-off hitter Park Min-woo reached base on a walk, then Kim Joo-won capitalized on Rosenberg's first pitch, connecting for a two-run homer that landed in the left-center field.
Kiwoom retaliated in the top of the third inning. Lead-off hitter Kim Tae-jin benefited from a strikeout passed ball to reach base. Following that, Puig reached base on a fielder's choice, while Cardenas hit a two-run homer to tie the game against Riley. He connected off a slider on the third pitch with a ball count of 1B-1S.
NC's batting lineup began to exert itself from the bottom of the fourth inning. After one out, Kwon Hee-dong reached base with a left-field single, then courtesy runner Jang Chang-hoon attempted a stolen base but advanced to third due to a catcher's error. Seo Ho-cheol, at bat, grounded out to the pitcher, but the next batter Kim Hyung-jun broke the 2-2 tie with an RBI single to center field. It was the game-winner.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, lead-off hitter Park Min-woo hit a double off the first pitch from the new pitcher Jeon Joon-pyo, followed by Kim Joo-won tagging on for an RBI double. Son Ah-seop’s ground ball helped Kim Joo-won's advancement to third, while Park Gun-woo succeeded with an RBI single to center field.
NC did not stop. In the bottom of the sixth inning, with two outs and no runners on, Cheon Jae-hwan reached base with a single to center field, followed by Park Min-woo launching a two-run homer over right-center field against Jeon Joon-pyo.
On the mound, starter Riley went down after pitching 4 innings, allowing 3 hits (1 homer), with no walks, 6 strikeouts, and 2 earned runs. Lim Sang-hyeon (⅔ inning, no earned runs), Kim Tae-hyun (1 inning, no earned runs), Han Jae-seung (1⅓ innings, no earned runs), Choi Woo-seok (1 inning, no earned runs), and Kim Jae-yeol (1 inning, no earned runs) followed him on the mound.
In the batting lineup, Park Min-woo went 3-for-2 with 1 homer, 2 RBIs, 1 walk, and 3 runs scored, while Kim Joo-won went 3-for-2 with 1 homer, 3 RBIs, and 2 runs scored. Son Ah-seop also contributed with 2 hits in 3 at-bats. Kim Joo-won's name was listed among the overseas prospects with major league potential, along with Kim Do-young (KIA Tigers), An Woo-jin (Kiwoom Heroes), and Kang Baek-ho (KT Wiz), as pointed out by the recent U.S. statistics site "FanGraphs."
Kiwoom’s starter Rosenberg took the loss after pitching 4 innings, allowing 5 hits (1 homer), 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, and 3 runs (2 earned). Jeon Joon-pyo followed up with 3 innings and 4 runs, while Lee Kang-jun pitched 1 inning without allowing any earned runs, checking his form.
NC will face the KIA Tigers at home in the third exhibition game on the 10th. Kiwoom will move to Suwon to meet the KT Wiz.
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