The 'natural enemy' winning team was not even 6-1 at the bottom... LG won 6-5 with the bases loaded in the ninth inning

*This content was translated by AI.

At this point, it is not strange to say that a natural enemy is a natural enemy. The "defending champion" LG Twins almost got caught off guard by last year's lowest-ranked Kiwoom Heroes once again.

LG beat Kiwoom 6-5 in a regular season away game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 5th.

As a result, LG confirmed the winning series with two consecutive wins after losing one of the three consecutive games, matching the winning rate of 4 wins, 4 losses and 50%. On the other hand, Kiwoom was satisfied with the home opening victory and tied for the lowest with the Lotte Giants and KIA Tigers with 2-6.

Last year, LG finished the regular season with 85 wins, 3 draws, and 56 losses and won the Korean Series for the fourth time. As the winning team, it had an overall advantage over eight teams except for the NC Dinos with an 8-8 tie.

However, he was particularly weak against Kiwoom, which was the lowest team last year. Kiwoom exposed the lowest power with 47 wins, 4 draws and 93 losses last year, overwhelmingly in ninth place and 15 games apart, with 7 wins and 9 losses against LG. In response, Kiwoom coach Seol Jong-jin also said on the 3rd that "there is confidence among the players that the game will work out well if they play against LG" ahead of their first showdown of the 2026 season.

This is the Kiwoom that proved the atmosphere as a result of the three consecutive games in which the first to third starters competed head-to-head. Kiwoom defeated LG 5-2 in the first game thanks to Raul Alcantara's good pitching of one run in six ⅓ innings and Trenton Brooks' four-for-four, one-run performance.

In the second game, Ha Young-min's good pitching of one run in five innings and low-hitting four-run performance led 4-1 until the end of the seventh inning. After that, the bullpen collapsed and suffered a 5-6 upset loss, but it was a desperate two hours for LG.

The opposite situation to the previous day (4th) unfolded in Game 3. LG took the lead as starting pitcher Anders Tolhurst played six innings with two hits and three walks (one homer) with seven strikeouts and one run.

LG made it 2-0 in the top of the first inning with Moon Bo-kyung's timely RBI to the right and Park Dong-won's sacrifice fly to the left field. Although he hit a solo shot by Kim Gun-hee in the second inning, he widened the gap again with Oh Ji-hwan's two-run timely hit following consecutive hits by Chun Sung-ho and Park Hae-min in the top of the fourth inning.

Since then, Tolhurst's good pitching and Jang Hyun-sik and Kim Jin-sung's one-inning scoreless pitch have continued. On top of that, Moon Bo-kyung's solo shot over the middle wall in the top of the ninth inning and Oh Ji-hwan's timely double with an RBI on the right field line with two outs seemed to have hit a wedge.

LG prepared for the next by replacing left-hander Pilseungjo Ham Deok-ju, catcher Lee Joo-heon, and first baseman Lee Young-bin. However, as Kim Gun-hee, Park Joo-hong, and Lim Ji-yeol made the bases loaded with no outs with consecutive hits, Gocheok Dome became hot again.

Lee Hyung-jong entered as a pinch hitter, and the bat turned wide on the eighth pitch outside facing at the end of the full count. As the ball headed over the right fence, it became a grand slam. Kiwoom's 4-6 chase. Closer Yoo Young-chan went up in a sudden save situation. Yoo Young-chan raised tensions by giving consecutive walks to Brooks and Lee Ju-hyung.

For Kiwoom, the silence of veterans was regrettable. An Chi-hong touched the outside ball on the fourth pitch and poured cold water with a 6-4-3 double play. LG shortstop Oh Ji-hwan's defense was clean. The game ended with LG's victory as Choi Joo-hwan then greatly missed the bat on the fifth fork that fell low on his body.

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*This content was translated by AI.