*This content was translated by AI.
LG Twins manager Yeom Kyung-yeop (58) carefully took care of the players despite a dizzying start to the season.
LG beat KIA 2-1 in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season home game held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 2nd. As a result, LG, which succeeded in its first winning series of the season with two consecutive wins, is closer to a .500 winning rate with two wins and three losses.
Amid the pitchers' good pitching, there were moments when I could not relax until the end of the game. Starting pitcher Lachlan Wells earned his first win with seven hits, two strikeouts and one run in six innings. It was also LG's first quality start this year (more than six innings and less than three earned runs). After that, Jang Hyun-sik and Woo Kang-hoon each blocked one perfect inning.
The most anxious thing was Yoo Young-chan. Yoo Young-chan, who took the mound in the top of the ninth inning with LG leading 2-1, walked Kim Sun-bin, the first batter. For the tie, Kim Sun-bin was changed to pinch runner Park Jae-hyun, and Yoo Young-chan struck out Oh Sun-woo with a swing and miss.
The close-knit situation continued. Four balls went wide against Jarryd Dale, and another walk came out. Fortunately, Han Jun-su hit a fly ball to left field and Park Min hit a ground ball to second base, and Yoo Young-chan made a save for two consecutive days without losing a point.
It was a difficult pitch to see as perfect. However, after the game, manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said, "Wells recorded no outs with aggressive pitching. He set the stage for victory with good pitching. Our winning groups, Jang Hyun-sik, Woo Kang-hoon, and Yoo Young-chan, were able to win by keeping three perfect innings."
There was no sign of being chased. LG, which won the club's fourth unified championship last year, set its goal this year for two consecutive losses, which it failed to achieve in 2024. However, due to poor starting pitchers and a series of injuries, the plan was twisted as the season began with the opening three consecutive losses.
According to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the team that won the opening four consecutive games and topped the regular season has never appeared since the beginning of the league in 1982. Only two teams, KIA in 2009 and Samsung Lions in 2012, started the season with three consecutive losses and ranked first. Despite the dizzying situation, head coach Yeom Kyung-yeop aimed to hold out until April, saying, "I thought there would be damage from the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in April to May anyway."
We have taken care of what we can take in a situation where a step back is inevitable for the advancement of Ebo. The meticulousness of the head coach was revealed even before the game. Oh Ji-hwan was not seen until the end in the LG lineup, which did not change the starting lineup much during the first four games of the opening. The main reason was that he was hit by Kim Si-hoon's fastball in his last at-bat the previous day (1st).
It was also a consideration for veterans who had a bad start in the early stages. Oh Ji-hwan, who also had a bad batting average of 0.156 (5 hits in 32 at-bats) in 12 exhibition games, is not good with a batting average of 0.067 (1 hit in 15 at-bats) in four games even during the regular season. In response, head coach Yeom Kyung-yeop gave Oh Ji-hwan time to step back and check his condition. The growth of backup utilities Koo Bon-hyuk and Chun Sung-ho also helped.
Coach Yeom said, "(Oh) Ji-hwan is not in a bad condition. Rather, (Oh) Ji-hwan is very sorry," he said, expressing regret, adding, "When I see him defending, he still has quickness." We just need time to supplement technically," he said, looking forward to Oh Ji-hwan's remaining 139 games.
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*This content was translated by AI.
