"I was strong even without the four of you."' Lotte's first win in an exhibition game! Yoon Dong-hee's final hit → Hwang Sung-bin-Reyes multi-hit explosion [KBO Exhibition Game Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

Lotte Giants won the exhibition game with a sweat from the first game.

Lotte won 4-3 against KT Wiz in the opening game of the 2026 KBO League exhibition game at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Sajik-dong, Busan on the 12th.

The batting lineup's performance was encouraging. Lotte was suspended from Taiwan's spring camp in February after Ko Seung-min (26), Kim Dong-hyuk (26), Na Seung-yeop (24), and Kim Se-min (23) were involved in a gambling case. Among them, the departure of Ko Seung-min and Na Seung-yeop, the main fielders, was feared to weaken the lineup.

However, the batters gained strength from the first game of the exhibition game. Leadoff Hwang Sung-bin scored two hits and one point in four at-bats, and Victor Reyes hit hard with two hits in three at-bats. Yoon Dong-hee made a multi-hit with one hit and two RBIs in two at-bats, including the come-from-behind final hit, and Han Tae-yang made two hits in three at-bats.

Starting pitcher Kim Jin-wook also pitched four ⅔ innings with three hits, one walk, three strikeouts, and one run since his first run in the first inning. Rookie Park Jung-min, the only rookie who participated in the spring camp, raised expectations with perfect pitching that deleted one inning with 10 balls.

KT, on the other hand, was disappointed with the poor batting performance of its main batters. Choi Won-joon, Kim Hyun-soo, Sam Hilliard and Huh Kyung-min combined for two hits. Starting pitcher Ju-won was encouraging with three hits and one strikeout in three innings, but it was disappointing that Kim Min-soo allowed three runs in one inning.

On this day, Lotte, the home team, consisted of Hwang Sung-bin (center fielder), Victor Reyes (designated hitter), Jeon Joon-woo (left fielder), Han Dong-hee (first baseman), Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Yoo Kang-nam (catcher), Son Ho-young (third baseman), Han Tae-yang (second baseman), and Jeon Min-jae (striker). The starting pitcher is Kim Jin-wook.

Against this, KT, the away team, formed a lineup of Choi Won-jun (center fielder), Kim Hyun-soo (first baseman), Sam Hilliard (left fielder), Jang Sung-woo (designated hitter), Heo Kyung-min (third baseman), Kim Sang-soo (second baseman), Bae Jung-dae (right fielder), Kim Min-seok (poster), and Lee Kang-min (striker). The starting pitcher is Ju-won.

KT was in charge of opening the game. With one out in the top of the first inning, Kim Hyun-soo hit a double on the left field line, and Hilliard called home with a timely double on the right field line. Lotte starter Kim Jin-wook also grounded out the next two batters and made no additional runs.

Since then, there has been a frustrating flow of games in which no timely hit has been made even on base. Several good plays also maintained a tight one-point balance. In the bottom of the fourth inning, leadoff hitter Han Dong-hee pulled the ball of the changed pitcher Woo Kyu-min well and sent it to the left. However, KT rookie shortstop Lee Kang-min grounded out to first base with strong shoulders and lost the hit.

But the Giants shot went off. In the bottom of the fifth inning, leadoff hitter Han Tae-yang hit a right-handed hit by the changed pitcher Kim Min-soo. Hwang Sung-bin and Reyes loaded the bases with one out with consecutive hits.

Jeon Joon-woo tied the score 1-1 with a walk at the end of a full count. When Yoon Dong-hee made a timely RBI hit to the right, two runners homered due to the opponent's defense error. Lotte's 3-1 lead.

Lotte scored an extra point in the bottom of the seventh inning. Leadoff hitter Hwang Sung-bin got on base with a left-handed hit and changed to pinch runner Kim Han-hole. Kim Han-hole, who went to third base due to Kim Min-sung's fly ball, homered during Jang Doo-sung's timely RBI.

KT saw the last chance to turn around against Yoon Sung-bin, who took the mound at the end of the ninth inning. With one out in the top of the ninth inning, pinch-hitter Kim Junghoon Lee walked to get on base, and Ryu Hyun-in recovered a point with an RBI triple to right-center. When Yoon Sung-bin's ball flowed backward, Ryu Hyun-in homered and chased to a point difference of 3-4.

Yoo Jun-kyu created an opportunity by stealing second base on a hit to the right. However, Cho Dae-hyun stepped down with a ground ball to third base and failed to turn the tables.

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*This content was translated by AI.