Seoul: Starter Yonny Chirinos threw six strong innings and cleanup Moon Bo-gyeong backed him up with a home run, as the LG Twins routed the Lotte Giants 12-2 to start the 2025 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season at home.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Twins jumped on Giants starter Charlie Barnes for three runs in the bottom of the first inning at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. After Kim Hyun-soo doubled with one out, Austin Dean brought him home with a double of his own. Moments later, Moon drilled a 0-2 slider from Barnes for a two-run shot, extending the Twins' lead to 3-0, marking the first home run of the KBO season.
Barnes struggled further in the third inning, giving up two singles and a walk to load the bases with one out. He then walked Gu Bon-hyeok, pushing in a run to make it 4-0 for the Twins. A wild pitch from Barnes allowed another run, followed by Hong Chang-ki's two-run double to deep right-center, putting the Twins up 7-0.
Barnes' counterpart, Chirinos, held the Giants scoreless through three innings but faced trouble in the fourth. After a double and two walks, Son Ho-young hit a single, driving in two runs and cutting the deficit to 7-2. Chirinos, however, managed to prevent further damage with a strikeout and a pop out.
The Twins stretched their lead in the fourth inning with Song Chan-eui's two-out double off reliever Kim Gang-hyun. The Giants' errors helped the Twins regain a seven-run lead in the fifth. A botched double play allowed Gu Bon-hyeok to score, putting the Twins ahead 9-2.
In the eighth inning, the Twins added three more runs, highlighted by Oh Ji-hwan's solo home run. The Twins outhit the Giants 15-7, while the Giants walked five batters and committed three errors.
Despite a hiccup in the fourth inning, Chirinos allowed only one more base runner over the next two innings. He held the Giants to two runs on five hits in six frames, striking out eight batters with his forkball. Chirinos threw a total of 103 pitches, including 54 two-seam fastballs and 27 forkballs.
Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb praised the team's early offense and Chirinos' performance. "We grabbed the early momentum thanks to Austin's RBI and Bo-gyeong's home run. And we tacked on runs whenever we needed to pull away," Youm said. "Chirinos stumbled a bit in the fourth inning but he did his job as our starter. And then the bullpen took care of the rest. I hope Chirinos will keep winning more games going forward."
Moon was thrilled with his performance, particularly being the first home run hitter in the KBO for 2025. "I swung the bat thinking it was a fastball, but it turned out to be a slider," Moon said. "I guess I was a bit nervous, being in my first at-bat in the first game of the season."