SEOUL, South Korea (Interstat) — Austin Dean’s solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning broke a tense deadlock and propelled the first-place LG Twins to a 2-1 victory over the Lotte Giants on Tuesday night at a chilly Jamsil Stadium.

A crowd of 23,750 watched as the Twins, leveraging strong starting pitching and a timely blast from their import slugger, edged the Giants in a tightly contested pitchers’ duel that defied pregame projections of a high-scoring affair.

The game’s decisive moment came with one out in the eighth. Facing Lotte reliever Park Jeong-min, Dean connected on a 1-1 pitch, sending a towering drive over the left-field wall. The homer was Dean’s third hit of the night, following a first-inning single and a third-inning double, and it provided the final margin in a game where runs were at a premium.

Dean’s heroics made a winner of reliever Kim Jin-sung and secured a save for You Young-chan, but the foundation was laid by LG starter Song Seung-ki. The right-hander delivered six dominant innings, scattering just three hits and striking out five while walking none. He faced minimal trouble, as the Giants failed to advance a runner past second base against him.

Lotte starter Na Gyun-an matched Song’s effectiveness for much of the evening, working into the sixth inning. He allowed one run on seven hits, with that lone tally coming in a hectic first inning. After two quick outs, Dean singled and scored when Moon Bo-gyeong followed with a sharp single to center, giving LG an early 1-0 lead.

Na navigated subsequent threats, stranding Twins in scoring position in the third and fifth innings. He was relieved by Choi E-jun with two outs in the sixth, and Choi promptly extinguished a potential rally to keep the deficit at one.

The Giants, who had mustered little offense, finally broke through against the LG bullpen in the top of the seventh. Han Tae-yang and Yoon Dong-hee opened the inning with consecutive singles off Woo Kang-hoon. After a strikeout, No Jin-hyuk, pinch-hitting, delivered a clutch single to center, scoring Han Tae-yang to tie the game at 1-1. The rally was snuffed out, however, when Son Seong-bin grounded into an inning-ending double play.

That missed opportunity proved costly. After Kim Jin-sung worked a perfect top of the eighth, Dean’s homer in the bottom half restored LG’s lead. Park Jeong-min, despite the loss, struck out the side in the inning, but the damage was done.

You Young-chan entered for the Twins in the ninth and surrendered a one-out single but induced a flyout and recorded a strikeout to seal the victory and earn the save.

The win improved LG’s record across all competitions to 10-4, solidifying their strong early-season form. The loss was the fifth in six games for the struggling Giants, who fell to 5-9.

The game’s outcome starkly contrasted with statistical pregame models, which had projected a 7-2 LG victory and a high combined score. The total of three runs fell dramatically under the over/under line of 9.5, highlighting the effectiveness of both starting pitchers.

The two teams will meet again Wednesday night at Jamsil Stadium to continue their three-game series.