"Who said it's not the best in the 5th round?" Fierce Lotte poured out its first KBO record in 2026 in '5 minutes'! Against A.C.E who won 15 games

*This content was translated by AI.

The first KBO League record in 2026 was poured out of the moon ball. The main character was not the Samsung Lions, who are called the strongest batters this season, but the Lotte Giants, who were undervalued by some for not being the best in the fifth round.

Lotte won 6-3 against Samsung in the opening game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 28th. According to data released by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) after the game on the 28th, many of the first KBO League records in the 2026 season came from this game.

The opponent was Ariel Furado (30), a foreign ace who won 15 games last year. From the beginning of the first inning, Lotte's batting lineup beat Furado. Son Ho-young connected Furado's change-up with a heavy hit three minutes into the game, which was the KBO's official first hit this season.

Subsequently, Yoon Dong-hee hit the fastball on the fifth pitch and crossed the right fence even though he started with an unfavorable ball count of 0B2S. As Son Ho-young, who was at first base, homered, his first home run of the 2026 season, RBI (Yoon Dong-hee) and scoring (Son Ho-young) were made at the same time. It happened in just five minutes.

The KBO's first sacrifice bunt also contributed to Lotte's victory. Leading hitter Jeon Min-jae walked to get on base in the top of the seventh inning with Lotte leading 3-0. Jang Doo-sung exquisitely attempted a bunt heading toward first base against Yuk Sun-yeop to achieve an additional base. It was the first sacrifice bunt in the 2026 season.

Is it because he felt pressured by the scorer. Yuk Seon-yeop on the mound committed a wild pitch and even allowed Victor Reyes to throw a two-run shot to the left-center wall. Since then, Lotte was able to win its first victory as college graduate rookie Park Jung-min blocked the bases-loaded crisis with one out without losing a point.

The first record in the 2026 season was strikeouts. Wilkel Hernandez (Hanwha Eagles) became the first record holder by striking out Lee Joo-hyung with five pitches with an outside fastball in the opening game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the same day.

However, Hernandez also fell victim to another No. 1 record after being hit by a large double to pass An Chi-hong over the left field key. At the same stadium, the first record of double plays (Choi Jae-hoon at the end of the second inning) and video reading (Shim Woo-joon at the end of the third inning) also came out.

The KIA Tigers couldn't laugh at the success of stealing and walking. In the opening match against SSG at SSG Landers Field in Incheon, leadoff hitter Kim Ho-ryeong walked for the first time in the league in the top of the first inning. It was his first record after picking out eight balls, including two fouls. Later, he homered when Harold Castro's double and Na Sung-bum's RBI hit to the right.

In the top of the second inning, Yoon Do-hyun stole second base after a left-handed hit and became the protagonist of the season's first stolen base. However, he failed to continue his early momentum and suffered a 6-7 come-from-behind loss due to Jung Hae-young's wild pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The Doosan Bears started the 2026 season with bitter memories against the NC Dinos at Changwon NC Park. It was the league's first error that first baseman Yang Seok-hwan missed Seo Ho-chul's ground ball with two outs in the bottom of the second inning. Chris Flexen (Doosan) then hit Choi Jung-won, which was his first hit of the season. Since then, Doosan, which gave up six points, has experienced the pain of Youngbong's loss as the only one in the five opening games.

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*This content was translated by AI.