Trailing 0-4, with even the closer who had never thrown a save appearing... Players were fired up. "We saw the team's will."

*This content was translated by AI.

The captain's miraculous walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and two strikes was possible thanks to the bench's bold decision and the pitcher's heroic performance on the mound.

LG secured a 6-4 comeback victory against the Kiwoom Heroes in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season home game held at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 24th.

It was a game where LG was helplessly trailing until the fifth inning, allowing only one hit thanks to the heroic performance of high school graduate rookie Park Jun-hyun (19). Starting pitcher Song Seung-gi also collapsed after pitching 3⅓ innings, allowing seven hits, one walk, four strikeouts, and four earned runs, which contributed to the difficulty of the game.

However, looking at the bench's mound management from then on, it seemed they had no intention of giving up the game easily. Kim Jin-su, who had been publicly announced by Yeom Kyung-yeop, LG's manager, as the new reliable reliever, took the mound in the top of the fourth with one out and runners on first and second.

Song Seung-gi had suddenly allowed four runs, and the team faced a crisis of massive scoring with the first batter up again. Yet, as expected from the boldness recognized by Manager Yeom, Kim Jin-su retired Seo Geon-chang on a fly ball to left field with just two pitches. He also struck out veteran An Chi-hong with a slider on the first pitch and then dropped a curveball in the same spot, resulting in a fly ball to center field.

Although LG batters continued to make outs afterward, the reliable relievers were continuously deployed on the mound. In the fifth inning, Kim Jin-seong retired the side in order with 12 pitches, and in the sixth, left-handed pitcher Kim Yun-sik finished the inning with 11 pitches.

The batters responded belatedly. Still trailing 0-4, Austin Dean hit a two-run single to center field off Park Jun-hyun with two outs and a runner on first in the bottom of the sixth, breaking the 0th-run streak. Oh Ji-hwan followed with a sacrifice two-run double down the right-field line. Cheon Seong-ho then boldly connected on a curveball on the second pitch for a two-run double, sending Park Jun-hyun off the mound.

As LG narrowed the gap to 3-4, trailing by one run, Kiwoom also activated their reliable relievers to secure a winning streak. Jo Young-geon put out the immediate fire, followed by Kim Seo-jun and Won Jong-hyun taking the mound in the seventh inning. In response, Manager Yeom sent Woo Kang-hoon in the eighth and then new closer Son Ju-young in the ninth, clearly conveying his determination to the players. Given that closers typically only appear in the ninth inning when the game is tied at minimum, this move was a clear gamble.

After the game, Son Ju-young reflected, "When (Kim) Jin-su and (Kim) Jin-seong came out, even though we were down 4-0, I saw the team's will to win unconditionally. Even if we were trailing by two or one run, I thought, 'They're going to send me out,' and prepared accordingly."

He added, "The batters also came back with three runs, allowing me to gather my thoughts and prepare better. Since there was still offense left, I prepared to pitch with the same mindset as before: 'We cannot give up even one run.' After throwing in the top of the ninth and coming down, I was thinking we should come back and win."

The prepared closer Son Ju-young showed his spirit even in the previous day's (23rd) 16-pitch outing. He retired Park Soo-jong on a fly ball to center field and struck out Kim Geon-hee with three pitches. After allowing a ground ball single to Kwon Hyuk-bin, he recorded the final out against the last batter, Seo Geon-chang, with his fastest pitch of the day at 151 km/h.

The result afterward was exactly as witnessed by the 23,750 full-house spectators. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, pinch-hitter Lee Jae-won seized the opportunity through a fielding error by the opponent, and Hong Chang-gi drew a walk. Then, captain Park Hae-min hit his first home run of the year and his career-first walk-off home run, putting a miraculous end to the game.

Park Hae-min reflected, "When (Son) Ju-young came up, I felt the manager wanted to win this game unconditionally. So I asked the players to let me come to the plate as well. After that, (Lee) Jae-won's single turned into a lucky double, and I felt luck was on our side, so I hit with confidence."

Manager Yeom also said, "Our six reliable relievers—Kim Jin-su, Kim Jin-seong, Kim Yun-sik, Kim Young-woo, Woo Kang-hoon, and Son Ju-young—perfectly fulfilled their responsibilities in their respective innings," explicitly naming each bullpen pitcher and acknowledging their contributions.

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*This content was translated by AI.