"Wow, is this for real?" Yoo Kang-nam's consecutive at-bats home run + 5 RBIs! Lotte beats Hanwha again to take first place in exhibition games [KBO Exhibition Game Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

The Lotte Giants have once again won consecutive games, solidifying their lead in exhibition games. At the center was a series of hitters that did not feel like the true story of the main catcher Yoo Kang-nam.

Lotte defeated the Hanwha Eagles 10-6 in the 2026 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO exhibition game held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 22nd. As a result, Lotte, which has won two consecutive games, maintained its first place, 1.5 games ahead of the second-place Doosan Bears (6 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses). Hanwha finished seventh with four wins and six losses.

The hot hit shone amid foreign pitcher Jeremy Bisley (31)'s stable pitching with five hits, no outs, three strikeouts and one run in five innings. Catcher Yoo Kang-nam became a coach of the day with two hits, five RBIs and two runs in three at-bats, including multiple home runs. Veteran Kim Min-sung was 2 for 5 and pinch hitter Jang Doo-sung was 2 for 2 with an RBI, leaving Lim Hae-kt. Shin Yoon-hoo, the main character of the Futures League's opening home run, also drew an arch in the first division, impressing head coach Kim Tae-hyung.

On the other hand, Hanwha lost two consecutive games due to foreign pitcher Wilkel Hernandez's poor performance of three hits (two homers), four walks, seven strikeouts and five runs in five innings, and sporadic seven hits. It was comforting that Kang Baek-ho and Heo In-seo each announced their good condition with home runs.

On this day, Lotte's lineup was composed of Victor Reyes (designated hitter), Jeon Min-jae (striker), Yoon Dong-hee (right wing), Jeon Joon-woo (left wing), Kim Min-sung (first baseman), Yoo Kang-nam (fosu), Park Seung-wook (third baseman), Lee Ho-joon (second baseman), and Hwang Sung-bin (middle fielder). The starting pitcher is Jeremy Bisley.

Against this, Hanwha formed a lineup of Oh Jae-won (center fielder), Jonathan Ferraza (right wing), Moon Hyun-bin (left wing), Noh Si-hwan (third baseman), Kang Baek-ho (designated hitter), Chae Eun-sung (first baseman), Ha Joo-seok (second baseman), Heo In-seo (captor), and Shim Woo-jun (striker). The starting pitcher is Wilkel Hernandez.

Lotte took the lead with five runs and a big inning in the bottom of the third inning. Leading hitter Hwang Sung-bin walked to get on base, and Reyes quickly hit a high fastball and hit a line-drive two-run shot.

For Hanwha, Hernandez's continued ball control was regrettable. Hernandez, who also walked Yoon Dong-hee, threw a slider high to Jeon Joon-woo to allow a hit to the right. Since then, the slider has been concentrated in the middle of the full-count match against Yoo Kang-nam, giving up three runs to the left.

It's Hanwha that followed one point at a time. In the top of the fifth inning, leadoff hitter Ha Joo-seok had an infield hit and Heo In-seo's ground ball made up for a point with a double on the right field line. In the top of the sixth inning, Kang Baek-ho hit a two-run shot over the right-center field to Masaya Kyoyama with one out and one on the first base, where Noh Si-hwan walked, and followed up to a 3-5, two-run gap.

However, Yoo Kang-nam broke Hanwha's will to chase with a fiery hit. In the bottom of the sixth inning, leadoff hitter Kim Min-sung got on base with a hit in left-center. Yoo Kang-nam then swung his bat in a stationary position and fired a two-run shot to the left as if he was waiting for Park Joon-young's low fastball.

After that, it was Lotte Face. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Shin Yoon-hoo hit a two-run shot to the left, and in the bottom of the eighth inning with one out and runners on the first and third bases, Jang Doo-sung ran away one more point with a timely RBI to the right.

Hanwha followed Heo In-seo with a three-run to left in the top of the ninth inning against shaking Chung Hyun-soo, but failed to turn the game around in the end.

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*This content was translated by AI.