'Ahn Hyun-min finally explodes' with a bases-loaded home run and 7 RBI showcase, KT crushes SSG 13-2... '5G consecutive QS' Go Young-pyo earns 6th win of the season [Suwon Field Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

The performance of the pitching and hitting aces stood out. Returning Ahn Hyun-min continued his scary on-base instinct, capping his comeback with a bases-loaded home run to secure a victory for KT Wiz. Native ace Go Young-pyo also contributed to the team win by recording five consecutive quality starts (six or more innings pitched with three or fewer earned runs allowed).

On the 23rd, KT secured a 13-2 victory over SSG Landers in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League home game held at Suwon KT Wiz Park.

KT recorded 42 wins, 28 losses, and 1 tie, maintaining second place. The top-seeded LG Twins also won today, keeping a three-game lead, while the gap with third-place Samsung Lions narrowed to 1.5 games. Meanwhile, SSG recorded 29 wins, 41 losses, and 2 ties, widening the gap with eighth-place Lotte to 1.5 games.

KT lined up its batting order as follows: Choi Won-jun (right fielder), Kim Hyun-soo (first baseman), Ahn Hyun-min (designated hitter), Sam Hilliard (center fielder), Kim Sang-soo (second baseman), Heo Kyung-min (third baseman), Kim Min-hyuk (left fielder), Han Seung-taek (catcher), and Lee Kang-min (shortstop). Go Young-pyo started on the mound.

SSG countered with the following lineup: Jeong Jun-jae (second baseman), Park Sung-han (shortstop), Kim Jae-hwan (designated hitter), Guillermo Heredia (left fielder), Jeon Ui-san (first baseman), Go Myeong-jun (third baseman), Choi Ji-hoon (center fielder), Kim Sung-wook (right fielder), and Jo Hyung-woo (catcher). Starting pitcher Kim Geon-woo.

SSG's powerful bats exploded, heating up from the bottom of the first inning. With one out, Park Sung-han reached base with a single to center field. With two outs and a runner on first, Heredia stepped up to the plate and smashed a sweeper from Go Young-pyo over the center field fence for a two-run lead. His 14th home run of the season soared high beyond the fence into the stands. The distance was a staggering 134.3 meters.

KT immediately launched a counterattack. Leadoff batter Choi Won-jun followed by Kim Hyun-soo both hit singles. With no outs and runners on second and third, Ahn Hyun-min hit a fly ball to left field. Runner Choi Won-jun scored from third, and Hilliard's blast turned the tide. With one out and a runner on second, he hit a curveball from Kim Geon-woo down the middle over the right-field fence for a two-run go-ahead home run. It was his 17th home run of the season.

KT also attacked Kim Geon-woo in the second inning. Leadoff batter Kim Min-hyuk drew a walk, followed by a single from Han Seung-taek, and then luck struck. SSG third baseman Go Myeong-jun fielded Lee Kang-min's grounder but chose to throw to second base, resulting in a throwing error that allowed additional advancement. With no outs and runners on second and third, Choi Won-jun's single to right field drove in two more runs, extending the lead to 6-2.

After allowing a run in the first inning, Go Young-pyo showed no signs of being shaken. Although he allowed baserunners in every inning except the fourth, he induced groundouts at every critical moment, pitching cleanly without allowing any further runs.

A peculiar situation unfolded in the top of the sixth inning. Kim Jae-hwan was retired via a looking strikeout, but Heredia's batted ball hit the third-base bag and became an infield hit. Later, Jeon Ui-san's line drive also struck first baseman Kim Hyun-soo's glove and bounced for another infield hit.

With one out and runners on first and second, Go Young-pyo, who had allowed two baserunners for the first time that day, retired Go Myeong-jun with a groundout to second base and Choi Ji-hoon with a swinging strikeout, extinguishing the threat himself.

With this performance, Go Young-pyo recorded five consecutive quality starts (six or more innings pitched with three or fewer earned runs allowed) starting from the Doosan Bears game on the 28th of last month.

In the bottom of the sixth, Ahn In-san, who joined KT via the second draft from NC Dinos ahead of this season, entered as a pinch-hitter for Lee Kang-min and hit a single to center field against Park Si-hoo. He had been called up on the 21st and went 0-for-1 in a game against KIA. This was his first career hit in his third season in the first division and his eighth game since starting his professional career with NC in 2020.

Afterward, Choi Won-jun drew a walk, and Kim Hyun-soo hit a single to left field, loading the bases with no outs. In the bottom of the fourth with one out and a runner on second, Ahn Hyun-min drew a walk, setting a new team record for most consecutive games on base at 40 games. He then hit a two-run single.

In the bottom of the seventh, they added a crucial run. The reliever Shin Sang-yeon showed control issues, and KT batters calmly drew walks. Heo Kyung-min and Kim Min-hyuk reached base via consecutive walks, and KT sent in pinch-runners Bae Jeong-dae and Ryu Hyun-in. Kwon Dong-jin also drew a walk, loading the bases. Chae Won-jun then scored a run on a bases-loaded walk.

With two outs and the bases loaded, Ahn Hyun-min sealed the game. With a 2-2 count, he lifted a low curveball for a 118.4-meter grand slam to left field. It was his second career bases-loaded home run and his first extra-base hit since returning from injury on the 16th, achieved in his seventh game back.

With this home run, last year's Rookie of the Year Ahn Hyun-min, who single-handedly accounted for seven RBIs, also broke his personal record for most RBIs in a single game. The previous record was five RBIs, set during the Suwon Doosan game on May 29 and the Suwon Lotte game on June 12 last year.

Sugimoto, Lee Sang-dong, and Woo Kyu-min, who entered from the seventh inning, each pitched a clean inning. Go Young-pyo, who pitched six innings allowing eight hits (one home run), no walks, four strikeouts, and two earned runs, earned his sixth win of the season (with four losses). His ERA dropped from 4.38 to 4.28.

Kim Geon-woo, who gave up three runs each in the first and second innings, allowed six runs (four earned) over four innings and took the loss, his fifth of the season (with six wins).

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*This content was translated by AI.