'Lee Mat-hyun' Kang Baek-ho's first home run, crossed Monster Wall! Hanwha beats Samsung for first time in exhibition game with 10 billion FA winning shot [KBO Exhibition Game Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

Kang Baek-ho (27) hit his first home run in an exhibition game in a Hanwha Eagles uniform. It was a large arch that coolly crossed the 8m tall monster wall.

Hanwha beat the Samsung Lions 3-2 in the 2026 KBO exhibition game held at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ball Park in Busa-dong, Jung-gu, Daejeon on the 13th.

It was the first win in a meaningful exhibition game that repaid the 3-12 defeat the previous day. With 13 hits in both teams, Kang Baek-ho, who signed a four-year, 10 billion won FA contract this season and joined Hanwha, ended the game.

Kang Baek-ho came out as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the sixth inning when the two teams were 2-2, and played a persistent game with right-hander Lee Seung-hyun. Samsung's battery, which induces swings and misses through changeups, persistently held out to the full count.

And when the fastball on the eighth pitch headed toward his body, he swung his bat without hesitation and drew a large arch with a flying distance of 110m. A cheerful swing that comes to mind when I say, "I'm paying for this taste." Since then, Hanwha's mound has not lost a point, and this home run has become the final hit.

For Hanwha, it was even more meaningful because it was a game created by young players. Starting pitcher Hwang Joon-seo (21) laid the foundation for victory with two hits, no outs, two strikeouts and one run in three innings. Kwon Min-gyu (20), who took the mound in the sixth inning, set the stage for a come-from-behind victory by perfectly blocking one inning with 11 balls.

Closer Kim Seo-hyun (22) struck out two with fastballs up to 156 kilometers per hour, raising expectations for this season as well. Kim Seo-hyun took the mound in the top of the ninth inning with Hanwha leading 3-2, striking out Kim Heon-gon, grounding Shim Jae-hoon to the second base, and catching Kim Jae-sung with a catcher strike not out.

In the batting lineup, catcher Heo In-seo (23) played two hits (one home run) in three at-bats. Heo In-seo came out as a leadoff hitter in the bottom of the third inning when he was losing 0-1 and hit left-hander Lee Seung-hyun's second fastball to hit a big ball over the left-center fence.

Samsung's starting pitcher left-hander Lee Seung-hyun pitched well with four hits (one homer) and four strikeouts and two runs in four innings. Choi Ji-kwang, Bae Chan-seung, and Yang Hyun also continued to pitch one scoreless inning with a small number of balls, but it was regrettable that they could not exceed one Kang Baek-ho.

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*This content was translated by AI.