*This content was translated by AI.
After much hardship, LG Twins closer Son Ju-young (28) achieved his 20th save and expressed his strong desire to reach the Korean Series (KS).
On the 28th at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium, in a regular-season home game against the Kiwoom Heroes in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League, Son Ju-young pitched one inning allowing one hit, issuing one walk and recording one strikeout without surrendering any runs. He secured the 5-3 victory for LG and earned his 20th save of the season.
The game remained tense until the end. Entering in the bottom of the ninth with LG leading 5-3, Son Ju-young retired Lee Hyung-jong on a third-base grounder but walked Park Chan-hyuk with a straight pitch. He struck out pinch-hitter Yeo Dong-wook on a swing-and-miss, but Kwon Hyeok-bin's bloop hit just over the third baseman's head became a double, making the outcome uncertain.
However, Son Ju-young managed to end the game by inducing a third-base grounder from Seo Geon-chang with a 154 km/h fastball. This save came 26 days after his previous one on July 2 against Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome.
Son Ju-young had prepared for the season as the fourth starting pitcher but returned to the first division in May due to a side injury just before the opener. Upon returning, he transitioned from the buildup role to closer amid the departure of closer Yoo Young-chan and the struggles of Jang Hyun-sik.
The desperate measure proved successful. Starting from his appearance on May 13 against Samsung Lions at Jamsil in a save situation, Son Ju-young went undefeated. From July 2 against Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok to July 2 against Lotte Giants at Busan, he recorded 14 consecutive saves and entered the race for the saves champion title.
However, starting from early July against Samsung in Daegu, things began to unravel. He faced an unstable situation where he allowed hits in every game, and there were also frequent days when he could not enter due to poor team offense. As the bullpen became unreliable, LG fell into an eight-game losing streak, and their standing dropped from first place to third. Feeling a sense of responsibility, Son Ju-young stepped up.
He stated, "The team's losing streak and poor performance weighed heavily on my mind. Today (the 28th) was not easy either, but since we managed to hold them off somehow, I believe I can pitch with more confidence moving forward."
He continued, "Reaching 20 saves felt incredibly difficult due to the unlucky streak. While waiting for save opportunities was tough, I prepared diligently in anticipation of save situations that could come at any time."
As a result, LG maintained third place with 54 wins and 41 losses, trailing first-place Samsung (58-35) by five games and second-place KT Wiz (54-2-36) by 2.5 games. Although Samsung and KT are showing strong momentum, with 49 games remaining, the team remains determined not to give up until the end.
Son Ju-young declared, "After reaching 20 saves, my first goal is for the team to advance as far as possible in the Korean Series without injury. My next goal is to achieve 30 saves by finishing the season healthy."
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*This content was translated by AI.
