"I'm not worried about the speed." Calm LG foreign investor explodes at 161.7 km/h! Moon Dong-ju's KBO fastest pitch record broken

*This content was translated by AI.

LG Twins' Yascel Rios (33) remained calm even after breaking the KBO League record for fastest pitch.

LG defeated Samsung 2-0 in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season home game at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 24th.

With this win, LG, now on a five-game winning streak, improved to 47 wins and 26 losses, extending their lead over second-place KT Wiz (42 wins, 1 tie, 29 losses), who lost to SSG Landers on the same day, by four games to maintain sole first place. Third-place Samsung, having clinched a losing series, fell to 40 wins, 2 ties, and 30 losses.

Starting pitcher Anders Tollhurst laid the foundation for victory with 6 innings, allowing 2 hits, 2 walks, and recording 5 strikeouts without surrendering a run. Austin Dean broke the 0-0 tie with a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the 4th inning. In the bottom of the 6th with one out and runners on second and third, Moon Bo-kyung's sacrifice fly to left field drove in one run, fulfilling all conditions for victory.

This also gave Yascel Rios (33) a chance to wash away the pain from the previous day (23rd). Rios had previously entered the game in the top of the 6th with no outs and bases loaded against Samsung at Jamsil on the 23rd, where he allowed a sweep 3-run double to Lewin Diaz, damaging his reputation.

Since Son Ju-young could not pitch again due to throwing 37 pitches over 1⅓ innings without allowing a run, Rios was scheduled to appear in the 9th inning. From the start, Rios threw a 157 km/h fastball, surprising the full house of 23,750 spectators. He then mixed in a 140 km/h curveball and a 159 km/h fastball to induce Park Seung-kyu to swing and miss for a strikeout.

He also succeeded in avenging himself against Diaz. After hitting Diaz with a 159 km/h fastball on the first pitch, Rios mixed in a 140 km/h curveball and a 146 km/h high-speed forkball to record a looking strikeout. After allowing a ground ball single to veteran Choi Hyung-woo, Rios wrote history in Kim Young-woong's at-bat.

Rios threw a 162 km/h fastball according to the scoreboard. According to confirmation by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the pitch clocked in at 161.7 km/h via TrackMan, marking the fastest pitch in the regular season since speed measurements began in 2018. The previous record was held by Moon Dong-ju (Hanwha Eagles), who recorded 161.44 km/h in a game against KT Wiz in Suwon on September 20, 2025.

Rios continued to mix various high-speed forkballs, fastballs, and curveballs, inducing three swings and misses, and ended Kim Young-woong's at-bat with a catcher's strikeout for an out. This was Rios's first save in his KBO debut.

After the game, Rios spoke to reporters: "It was tough, but trusting the velocity I have and throwing with confidence was effective. I also believe our team has the best defense in the league. The catcher (Park Dong-won) calls signals very well, and I feel the team operates the game well. Trusting my teammates led to this good result."

Despite praise from the manager and recording the fastest pitch in the league, Rios remained calm. Before the game, manager Yeom Kyung-yeop praised Rios as the number one relief pitcher among all KBO League relievers.

Rios responded, "I am truly grateful for the manager's trust. However, baseball is a game that must be played over nine innings, and I do not consider myself a special pitcher. I am just one of the pitchers." He added, "I am not too concerned about the speed. Instead, I am thinking about how to mix my pitches. In recent games, I have been getting hit repeatedly. KBO batters are adapting quickly to fastballs, so I am focusing on how to mix my pitches."

Although signs of fatigue from consecutive appearances were visible, Rios shook his head. Rios said, "Our training team's treatment system is so good that I am receiving a lot of help. My role is to go out and perform 100% of my assigned tasks, so I am only focusing on that. If pitching three games in a row helps the team win, I will certainly go out," he said with a bright smile.

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*This content was translated by AI.