On this day, Lim Ji-yeol (28)’s one shot shone through. Kiwoom Heroes’ Shin-Stealer Lim Ji-yeol hit a dramatic come-from-behind walk-off home run to put the brakes on the Giants’ advance.
The Kiwoom Heroes pulled off a 7-5 come-from-behind victory over the Lotte Giants in the fifth game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on 28 April. The result snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 20 wins (28 losses) on the season.
Lim Ji-yeol (28) was the star of the victory. Coming off the bench, she had a strong performance with a 1-for-1 performance (1 home run), 4 RBIs and 1 walk to help the team break out of a four-game losing streak.
Lim, who started the game off the bench, came in for Kim Jun-wan at third base in the top of the seventh inning, trailing 1-5, and drew a walk to set up Kim Hye-sung’s RBI single.먹튀검증
The highlight came in her second at-bat. Trailing 5-7 with two outs in the eighth inning, she hit a dramatic game-winning home run. With a favourable 2B-1S count, Lim took a 140km fastball from Lotte’s Yoon Myung-jun for his first career grand slam.
After the game, Lim said, “I just tried to do what I could, and it turned out well. As soon as I hit it, I knew it would be a good result. The team was on a losing streak, so I wanted to focus on winning, and I feel good that I was able to help,” he said with a smile.
“It’s not so much that it’s a grand slam, but that it’s a home run that can end a losing streak,” said Lim, who was asked how it felt to hit a grand slam for the first time since his professional debut.
Since joining Kiwoom’s predecessor, Nexen, in 2014, Lim has been known as a “god-stealer” who delivers a powerful blow in every game. His performance in the last two years has been particularly impressive. Last year, he hit home runs in the semi-finals, playoffs, and Korean Series, showing that he is strong in big games, and this year, he hit his first career grand slam in the NC on the 13th.
“I feel like I have a little bit of star power,” Lim said with a cool smile. “It’s true that the team’s mood has been a little down lately because we kept losing, but I hope my home run will give my teammates a little more strength, and I hope it will be an opportunity for the team to rebound.”