*This content was translated by AI.
Will the LG Twins finally have a trade fortune. LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop (58) could not hide his smile at the performance of Woo Kang-hoon (24) from Lotte Giants.
LG defeated KIA 7-2 in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season home game held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 1st. As a result, LG, which brought the series back to square one, broke its opening three consecutive losses and won its first victory in the 2026 season. It is also a pleasant victory that broke the six-game losing streak from the last three home games against the Samsung Lions on September 20 last year.
LG has been suffering from a series of injuries and sluggish starts recently. On the same day, Song Seung-ki, who failed to fill enough pitches after participating in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), started. Song Seung-ki, who took the mound with a limited number of pitches, played his part in four ⅓ innings (82 pitches), four hits (one homer), one walk, four strikeouts, and one run.
The bullpen was responsible for the rest of the inning. Kim Jin-sung (⅔ innings), Jang Hyun-sik (1 inning), Ham Deok-ju (1 inning), and Woo Kang-hoon (1 inning) kept the lead by combining scoreless runs. In the top of the ninth inning, Bae Jae-joon was shaken with two hits, two walks and one run in ⅔ innings, but Yoo Young-chan blocked it with one finishing ball to keep the victory.
Woo Kang-hoon was the player who brought the most exclamation in LG. Woo Kang-hoon is a right-hander sidearm who joined Lotte in the fourth place in the fifth round of the second round of the 2021 KBO Rookie Draft after graduating from Hope Daecho-Masong Middle School. He was not selected by Lotte due to his unstable control, and headed to LG in March 2024 through a one-on-one trade with Son Ho-young.
Unlike Son Ho-young, who has established himself as the main player, Woo Kang-hoon did not show a remarkable performance in LG, so the trade seemed to end with Lotte's victory. However, this year, the team is expected to play a must-win game by inserting fastballs that have been controlled since the exhibition game.
On this day, Woo Kang-hoon also showed impressive performance with perfect pitching, striking out one strikeout in one inning with a maximum speed of 154 kilometers per hour.
Woo Kang-hoon, who took the mound in the top of the eighth inning with LG leading 7-1, struck out his first batter Chung Hyun-chang swinging. From the start, the ball of 152 km/h and 153 km/h was put into the strike zone. He induced a swing and miss with a fork toward the body and a 154km/h fastball outside. In the end, Jung Hyun-chang had no choice but to hit the bat on Woo Kang-hoon's low fastball of 153km/h, which came out low on the outside of Woo Kang-hoon's fifth pitch, resulting in a strikeout.
Kim Ho-ryeong, who had three hits in the previous at-bat and had a good hitting sense, was also forced. Woo Kang-hoon continued to induce a swing with the outside ball. Kim Ho-ryeong hit a 151km/h fastball on the third pitch and grounded out to second base. Harold Castro also failed to touch Woo Kang-hoon's fastball coming into the middle. In the end, he grounded out to third base with the bat on the fastball of 151 km per hour outside the fourth pitch. It was the moment when Woo Kang-hoon posted his first hold since his debut.
After the game, manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said, "Song Seung-ki played his role well as a starter. Victory groups Kim Jin-sung, Jang Hyun-sik, Ham Deok-ju, Woo Kang-hoon, and Yoo Young-chan were able to win by doing well in their roles. "Congratulations on Woo Kang-hoon's first hold since his debut," he said.
He also did not forget to praise hitters who broke the losing streak with concentrated batting. The number of hits on the day was similar with 8 LG and 7 KIA, but the scores were significantly different. Moon Sung-joo was 2 for 3 with an RBI and a walk, and Park Dong-won was 1 for 3 with 2 RBIs and 2 walks. With this RBI, Park Dong-won recorded his 64th 700th RBI in the KBO.
Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop said, "In the batting line, there was no additional point after three runs in the first inning, and he was chased. Later in the game, Austin, Hong Chang-ki and Park Dong-won made additional RBIs and were able to win." "It took me a long time to win my first victory, but the players did a good job. Thanks to the fans' support, I was able to break the losing streak. Thank you to the fans, and we will do our best to show better performances in the future," he said.
<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>
*This content was translated by AI.
