'Walk-off to walk-off to walk-off': NC's shocking ninth inning ends in a draw after extra innings... SSG's five-game winning streak temporarily paused [Incheon Field Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

NC Dinos missed a victory that was within reach. A bullpen meltdown and a delayed substitution pushed the situation to its worst outcome. Ultimately, what should have been a win turned into a draw.

In the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League away match against SSG Landers at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 26th, NC led 5-2 but surrendered three runs via walk-offs in the bottom of the 9th and ultimately ended in a 5-5 draw after extra innings.

NC remains in seventh place with 42 wins, 47 losses, and 2 draws, while SSG, which had been on a four-game winning streak, is now in ninth place with 36 wins, 56 losses, and 4 draws, halting their momentum temporarily.

NC's starting lineup for the day was: Cheon Jae-hwan (center fielder), Kim Ju-won (shortstop), Kwon Hee-dong (left fielder), Park Min-woo (second baseman), Kim Hwi-jip (third baseman), Park Geon-woo (designated hitter), Blaine Cream (first baseman), Kim Hyung-jun (catcher), Kim Hyung-jun (left fielder), Oh Jang-han (right fielder), and Cheon Jae-hwan (center fielder). Rile Thompson started on the mound.

A notable change was moving recently struggling foreign hitter Blaine down to the sixth spot in the lineup, with Kim Hwi-jip taking his place.

SSG countered with: Jeon Jun-jae (second baseman), Park Sung-han (shortstop), Bly Maddis (left fielder), Kim Jae-hwan (designated hitter), Jeon Ui-san (first baseman), Choi Ji-hoon (center fielder), Han Yu-seom (right fielder), Jo Hyung-woo (catcher), and Ahn Sang-hyun (third baseman). Starting pitcher was Shota Takeda.

With both starting pitchers performing steadily, NC's lineup opened the scoring in the top of the 3rd. Leadoff batter Cheon Jae-hwan drew a walk, followed by Kim Ju-won with an infield single to load the bases. After Kwon Hee-dong struck out, Park Min-woo hit a sacrifice fly to drive in one run. Kim Hwi-jip then hit a fly ball to left field, allowing the runner on third base, Kim Ju-won, to score via a tag-up play.

SSG responded immediately. In the bottom of the 3rd with no outs and runners on base while trailing 0-2, Jo Hyung-woo connected with a 137 km/h slider and launched a solo home run over the left-field wall. This was his sixth home run of the season and marked back-to-back home runs in consecutive games, achieving his first career two-game consecutive home run streak.

NC quickly answered back. In the top of the 4th with no outs and no runners on base, Kim Hyung-jun crushed a 142 km/h two-seam fastball from Takeda for a solo home run over the left-center field wall, his 11th of the season.

With Rile's strong performance, NC maintained its lead. Excluding the solo home run he allowed to Jo Hyung-woo in the 3rd, Rile delivered a flawless outing. He retired the side in order in the 4th but gave up a hit to Choi Ji-hoon leading off the 5th and another to Jo Hyung-woo with one out, putting himself in a bases-loaded, one-out crisis. However, he struck out Ahn Sang-hyun and Jeon Jun-jae with precise curveballs for back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.

When reliever Jeon Sa-min struggled after entering in the bottom of the 8th with runners on first and second and one out, Lim Ji-min entered quickly. He retired Han Yu-seom with a fly ball to left field. After a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, he walked Jo Hyung-woo to load the bases but struck out Ahn Sang-hyun swinging on four consecutive sliders, escaping the danger.

Lim Ji-min, who had cleared the crisis, returned in the 9th. With one out, he allowed a hit to Lee Ji-young and a walk to Maddis, putting runners on first and second. After striking out Kim Jae-hwan with a fly ball to left field, he walked Jeon Ui-san to load the bases with two outs. He then issued a walk-off walk to Choi Ji-hoon, followed by another walk to Han Yu-seom, creating a one-run deficit with two outs and bases loaded. Hong Dae-in came to bat. Lim had already thrown over 40 pitches and was unable to locate his strikes; he walked Hong on a straight pitch, allowing another walk-off and tying the game at 5-5.

SSG held the advantage. Unlike NC, which exhausted its winning pitcher, SSG utilized its chase lineup. In the top of the 10th, closer Jo Byung-hyun was brought in and struck out Choi Jung-won and Park Min-woo consecutively. He allowed a walk to Kim Hwi-jip followed by a stolen base but retired Han Jae-hwan with a fly ball to right field.

SSG failed to close the game in the bottom of the 10th, forcing the contest into an 11th-inning showdown. SSG brought in Noh Gyeong-eun, who struck out Do Tae-hoon, Kim Hyung-jun, and Oh Jang-han in order to shut down the top of the 11th completely.

In the bottom of the 11th, SSG faced reliever Shin Young-woo. Kim Jae-hwan's hit was caught by the left fielder's glove, Choi Jun-woo struck out swinging, and the game ended with Choi Ji-hoon striking out as the final batter.

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*This content was translated by AI.