'After 8 Games,' Austin Dean's Mega Twin-Spotter Boom-Slam, Son Ju-young's 'Toto-Toto' Save, LG Defeats SSG 6-4 [Incheon On-Site Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

Austin Dean hit back-to-back home runs after an 8-game drought, delivering a welcome victory for his team.

LG won 6-4 against SSG Landers in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League away game held at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 17th.

With the winning series secured, LG recorded 25 wins and 17 losses, surpassing the Samsung Lions (24 wins, 17 losses, 1 tie) who lost that day. Meanwhile, SSG remained in fourth place with 22 wins, 19 losses, and 1 tie.

LG lined up with Hong Chang-ki (designated hitter), Koo Bon-hyuk (shortstop), Austin Dean (first baseman), Park Dong-won (catcher), Moon Jung-bin (third baseman), Song Chan-ui (left fielder), Lee Jae-won (right fielder), Kim Hyun-jong (center fielder), and Shin Min-jae (second baseman). Starting pitcher was Im Chan-kyu.

SSG countered with Park Sung-han (shortstop), Jung Jun-jae (second baseman), Choi Jeong (designated hitter), Guillermo Heredia (right fielder), Kim Jae-hwan (left fielder), Choi Ji-hoon (center fielder), Jo Hyung-woo (catcher), Oh Tae-gon (first baseman), and An Sang-hyun (third baseman). Kim Geon-woo started on the mound.

Both teams had exhausted their bullpens after playing two consecutive one-run games. The key for the day was how many innings the starting pitchers could cover.

SSG brought out Kim Geon-woo, who has been pitching the most impressively this season. He had previously thrown six innings allowing only one run against LG.

However, LG's lineup tormented Kim Geon-woo. In the bottom of the 2nd, Park Dong-won reached base on a walk, followed by Moon Jung-bin hitting a home run. He did not miss the slider, which was located in the middle of the zone on a full count. The ball flew to left-center field, a two-run home run with a distance of 125 meters, giving LG a 2-0 lead. Moon Jung-bin, called up on the 15th, has been swinging the bat fiercely day after day and exploded with his first home run of the season.

SSG also launched a counterattack. In the top of the 2nd, Kim Jae-hwan responded with a home run. Despite showing the face of an arch-nemesis with 9 wins and 2 losses and an ERA of 2.28 in 13 games against SSG over the past four seasons, it was not easy for him today. With a 2-run lead and no runners on base in the top of the 2nd, a 143 km/h fastball thrown to Kim Jae-hwan was hit hard. The ball flew 135 meters toward right-center field and landed in the outfield stands. With this home run, he reached his 1,000th career RBI, the 27th player in KBO history to do so.

The game, which had been flowing calmly, erupted again in the 5th. In the bottom of the 5th, LG secured a 1-out opportunity with runners on second and third through consecutive hits by Shin Min-jae and Hong Chang-ki, followed by a sacrifice bunt by Koo Bon-hyuk. Austin, at the plate, hit Kim Geon-woo's curveball on a 2-1 count. The massive ball cleared the left-field wall. A three-run home run that extended the lead to 5-1. His 10th home run of the season marked four consecutive years of double-digit home runs in the KBO.

SSG also tormented Im Chan-kyu. In the top of the 5th with two outs, Oh Tae-gon smashed Im Chan-kyu's first-pitch curveball, hitting a solo home run to left-center field. It was his fifth home run of the season.

However, Im Chan-kyu also appeared in the 6th, holding the line for one inning before handing the ball to Kim Jin-soo in the 7th. Kim Jin-soo held the line without allowing a run even after giving up a double to Lee Jeong-beom in the 7th. In the top of the 8th, the LG lineup took another step toward victory with a hit. Once again, it was Austin. He hit a solo home run over the left-field wall against SSG's fourth pitcher, Noh Gyeong-eun. It was his 11th home run of the season.

Kim Young-woo, who entered in the bottom of the 8th, allowed a solo home run to Heredia (his sixth of the season) but still maintained a 2-run lead. In the bottom of the 9th, new closer Son Ju-young took the mound. Son gave up a hit to the first batter, Choi Ji-hoon, but struck out Jo Hyung-woo on three pitches and induced a groundout from reliever Chae Hyun-woo, who had hit the walk-off hit the previous day. In An Sang-hyun's at-bat, catcher Park Dong-won could not handle a pitch that allowed the runner to advance to third base, but he ultimately recorded a swinging strikeout, securing his third save of the season.

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*This content was translated by AI.