Kim Hun-gon's presence in the Samsung Lions starting lineup for their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason game Tuesday night raised more than a few eyebrows. By the end of the Lions' 10-5 win over the LG Twins, Kim had made his manager Park Jin-man look prescient. Kim launched a pair of two-run home runs at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul, helping the Lions take a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-five postseason series. Kim, who bats right-handed, replaced left-handed Yoon Jeong-bin in the No. 2 spot in the lineup for Game 2, since left-hander Son Ju-young started for the Twins. Park looked past the fact that Yoon had three hits in Game 1 on SundayKim got his first hit in the third inning, but ironically enough, the first of his two homers came against right-handed reliever You Young-chan in the fifth. Nursing a 3-1 lead, the Lions put a runner aboard with one out in the fifth, and the Twins went to You to put out the fire. Instead of turning to Yoon as a pinch hitter, Park stuck with Kim, who responded by launching a two-run shot that extended the Lions' lead. Kim did hit one out against a left-handed pitcher, a two-run blast off Kim Yu-yeong in the seventh inning. These were Kim's first two career postseason home runs. Asked if he thought he'd be lifted for Yoon in the fifth inning, Kim, 35, shook his head and said, "I didn't have time to think about that possibility." "I just wanted to make solid contact, but I wasn't necessarily trying to hit a home run," Kim added. "I am really happy with the results." When Kim took the field after hitting his second homer, fans in the bleachers chanted his name. "I got an adrenaline rush from that," Kim said. "A moment like that makes me feel glad that I am playing baseball for a living." Kim now won't have to worry about his playing time. The team's starting left fielder, Koo Ja-wook, suffered a knee injury during a steal attempt in the first inning and has been ruled out for at least the next two games. Park s aid both Kim and Yoon will get the start in the corner outfield positions. "Ja-wook is such an important part of this team, and it's tough to lose him like that," Kim said. "We will try to come together and play hard without him." The Daegu stadium yielded the league-high 216 home runs in 71 regular-season games and saw 11 homers in the first two games of this series. The series now moves to the cavernous Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, the least hitter-friendly park in the KBO. But Kim insisted where he plays won't matter. "I will stick to the same approach and mindset," Kim said. "It doesn't matter how well or poorly I hit. I just want us to win. I am not thinking about the stadium at all." Kim led the offensive explosion with four RBIs, while cleanup Lewin Diaz also went deep twice and knocked in three runs. It made for a relatively stress-free outing for Lions starter Won Tae-in, who limited the Twins to a run on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings for his first career postseason win. He gave up a couple of hits and a run in the first inning, but the Twins barely got anything off him the rest of the way. Won admitted he felt a bit rusty, because it was his first outing since his final regular-season start on Sept. 22. "I had a lot in my tank, but I wasn't as sharp as I should have been in the first couple of innings," Won said. "But I got a strikeout in the second inning, and it gave me more confidence for the rest of the game. We wanted to win both games at home before going to Jamsil, and I am really happy that we took care of that." Won said the jersey of the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has been his lucky charm. "Earlier in the year, I got ejected early for hitting a batter in the head, and things weren't going so well. I was just grasping at straws and ordered an Ohtani jersey," Won said. "I think I've had eight wins against just one loss when I showed up to the ballpark in my Ohtani jersey. So I wore that for today's game, too." Source: Yonhap News Agency
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