'7 hits → 4 hits → 18 hits explosion': Samsung's batting lineup finally erupts! Crushes LG 13-6... Faces batting champion KT [Jamsil On-Site Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

The Samsung Lions, who had been struggling with empty at-bats, heated up their bats before returning home.

Samsung defeated the LG Twins 13-6 in an away game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season held at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 25th.

With this victory, Samsung avoided a three-game sweep and remains in third place with 41 wins, 2 draws, and 30 losses. The top-ranked LG, on a five-game winning streak, saw their run end, falling to 47 wins and 26 losses, allowing the second-place KT Wiz (43 wins, 29 losses) to close the gap to three games.

Before this game, Samsung's team batting average in June was 0.241 (8th in the league), and their OPS (on-base plus slugging) was 0.689 (9th in the league), boasting a weak bat. In this three-game series, they managed only 7 hits and 4 hits in the previous games, suffering two consecutive losses. Ultimately, Samsung's batters took the initiative on special reports, and it paid off. Manager Park Jin-man expressed confidence, saying, "We usually don't score when Ariel Hurtado pitches, but conversely, the runs we haven't been able to score could come all at once today."

The manager's confidence proved well-founded. Samsung exploded with 18 total hits, long and short, and scored a whopping 13 runs. Lewin Diaz went 3-for-4 with one home run, five RBIs, one run, and one walk; Koo Ja-wook went 4-for-6 with one RBI, three runs, and one stolen base; Park Seung-gyu went 2-for-2 with two walks and three runs; Kang Min-ho went 1-for-4 with two RBIs; Ryu Ji-hyuk went 1-for-4 with three RBIs and two walks; and Kim Ji-chan went 2-for-5 with one walk, two runs, and one stolen base.

Thanks to this, ace Ariel Hurtado, whose team had been tied for last in runs supported (3.9 runs per game), finally earned a starting win for the first time in 29 days since the May 27 game against the Incheon SSG Landers. Hurtado pitched 6⅔ innings (103 pitches), allowing seven hits and one walk while striking out three, giving up three earned runs in a quality start (six or more innings with three or fewer earned runs), achieving his fourth win (one loss) of the season.

LG's starting pitcher Lee Jeong-yong recorded his third loss of the season (one win, one hold) with five innings, allowing nine hits (one home run), six walks and hit-by-pitches (five walks, one hit-by-pitch), two strikeouts, and eight earned runs. In the batting lineup, backups stepped up. Cheon Seong-ho went 2-for-5 with two RBIs; Moon Jung-bin, entering as a pinch hitter, went 2-for-3 with one RBI; and Lee Ju-heon went 2-for-4. Hong Chang-ki, also a pinch hitter, went 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run.

Samsung's lineup for the day was Kim Ji-chan (center fielder), Park Seung-gyu (right fielder), Koo Ja-wook (left fielder), Choi Hyung-woo (designated hitter), Lewin Diaz (first baseman), Jeon Byeong-woo (third baseman), Ryu Ji-hyuk (second baseman), Kang Min-ho (catcher), and Yang Woo-hyun (shortstop). The starting pitcher was Ariel Hurtado.

LG countered with Cheon Seong-ho (third baseman), Park Hae-min (center fielder), Austin Dean (first baseman), Moon Bo-kyung (designated hitter), Song Chan-ui (right fielder), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Moon Sung-ju (left fielder), Lee Ju-heon (catcher), and Shin Min-jae (second baseman). The starting pitcher was Lee Jeong-yong.

Samsung's batting lineup struck from the start. Leadoff batter Kim Ji-chan reached on a single to left field, and Park Seung-gyu reached on a single to left-center. Koo Ja-wook hit a two-run single to left field, and Diaz hit a three-run home run over the fence.

In the top of the second, Kim Ji-chan and Park Seung-gyu reached on consecutive walks, and after Koo Ja-wook's fly ball to right field, there was one out with runners on first and third. Choi Hyung-woo hit a one-run single to center field, and Jeon Byeong-woo walked to load the bases. Ryu Ji-hyuk drew a bases-loaded walk, and Kang Min-ho hit a two-run single to center field, making it 8-0.

Samsung's offense continued into the later innings. In the bottom of the sixth, against reliever Bae Jae-jun, Park Seung-gyu walked, and Koo Ja-wook reached on a single to left field followed by a stolen base to second, creating a bases-empty situation with runners on second and third. Diaz hit another two-run double to left-center field. In the top of the seventh, with two outs, Koo Ja-wook hit a double down the right-field line, and Choi Hyung-woo hit a one-run single to center field to seal the game. In the top of the ninth, with one out and runners on first and second, Ryu Ji-hyuk hit a two-run triple to the center-field wall.

LG avoided a shutout thanks to the efforts of its backups. Immediately after the defensive start in the top of the second, Park Hae-min was replaced by Hong Chang-ki for conditioning purposes, and in the top of the third, Lee Young-bin and Moon Jung-bin were inserted.

In the bottom of the third, with one out and runners on first and third created by hits from Moon Sung-ju and Shin Min-jae, Cheon Seong-ho scored one run on a ground ball to second base. In the bottom of the fifth, Lee Ju-heon reached on an infield single, and when Shin Min-jae hit a ground ball, the runner on first was replaced. As Shin Min-jae advanced to second on Cheon Seong-ho's ground ball, Hong Chang-ki hit a one-run single to center field. Moon Jung-bin connected with Hurtado's 147 km/h fastball, hitting a three-run triple to left-center field off the wall, scoring the third run.

In the bottom of the eighth, Moon Bo-kyung hit a solo home run over the fence, Shin Min-jae hit a one-run ground ball with one out and bases loaded, and Cheon Seong-ho hit a one-run single to left field, scoring three runs to cut the deficit. However, LG could not overcome the score gap, and Samsung secured the victory. Samsung, returning home to Daegu, will face the league's batting champion, KT Wiz, in a three-game series this weekend.

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*This content was translated by AI.