'Such romance in the KBO!' Finally, a historic first for the franchise! The '9-inning shutout miracle' star was none other than 'foreign investor monster' Avila [Incheon On-the-Ground Review]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

SSG Landers secured victory over Doosan Bears in the first game of their three-game weekend series, led by Pedro Avila's shutout pitching, gaining early momentum.

On the 4th, SSG defeated Doosan 4-0 in a regular-season home game at Incheon SSG Landers Field as part of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League.

With this win, SSG improved to 51 wins, 66 losses, and 5 ties, maintaining sole possession of 8th place in the league. Meanwhile, Doosan fell into a four-game losing streak, sitting alone at 5th place with 61 wins, 56 losses, and 4 ties.

SSG's starting lineup for the day was: Jung Jun-jae (second baseman), Park Sung-han (right fielder), Heredia (left fielder), Kim Jae-hwan (designated hitter), Han Yu-seom (right fielder), Choi Ji-hoon (center fielder), Jeon Ui-san (first baseman), Jo Hyung-woo (catcher), and Kim Joseph (third baseman). The starting pitcher was 'ERA 1-point monster foreign investor' Pedro Avila.

This marked the professional debut of '19-year-old rookie' Kim Joseph. SSG manager Lee Sung-yong explained the surprise selection: "Until last night, I planned to start An Sang-hyun at third base. We hadn't found the right timing to use Kim Joseph, but this time we decided to take a bold step. Both he and the fielding coach have prepared diligently. Since we were already monitoring him closely, if we're going to insert him, it made sense to start him boldly. I wanted to personally witness his abilities."

Doosan's starting lineup was: Park Chan-ho (shortstop), Oh Myung-jin (second baseman), Kim Min-seok (left fielder), Yang Eui-ji (designated hitter), Ahn Jae-seok (third baseman), Kang Seung-ho (first baseman), Jo Su-haeng (right fielder), Jung Soobin (center fielder), and Yoon Jun-ho (catcher). The starting pitcher was Park Shin-ji.

Changes were made to the first-team roster. Instead of promoting Son Ah-seop and Yang Seok-hwan, Jeon Da-min and Ryu Hyun-jun were removed from the first-team entry list. Doosan manager Kim Won-hyeong explained the call-ups: "We wanted to bring in some changes. The team is currently facing a difficult situation. We hoped that veterans would come in and provide support to the players and the team, so we decided to promote them."

Through the second inning, the score remained tied at 0-0. In the third inning, SSG took the lead. After one out, Jung Jun-jae reached base via a strikeout with a dropped third strike, then advanced to second base on a catcher's throwing error to first. Following two outs, Heredia targeted Shin-ji's first pitch and hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring a run.

In the fourth inning, back-to-back home runs were hit. With one out and no runners on base, Jeon Ui-san launched a solo shot over the center-field wall. Subsequently, Jo Hyung-woo also hit a solo home run over the right-field wall, extending SSG's lead to 3-0.

Then in the sixth inning, Jeon Ui-san became the hero of consecutive at-bat home runs. Facing Lee Yong-chan with one out and no runners on base, he connected with a forkball on a 2-2 count, fifth pitch, sending it over the center-field wall for another solo home run. This was his second career consecutive-at-bat home run, his 34th of the season, and the 1st,276th in KBO League history.

Meanwhile, Doosan's lineup struggled to penetrate Avila's pitching. Through six innings with one out, not a single batter reached first base. The first baserunner and hit came after one out in the sixth inning when Jung Soobin hit a deep ball toward second base for an infield hit. However, Jung Soobin was later caught stealing, and Kim Ki-yeon struck out, ending the threat. Doosan's lineup retired in order again in the seventh inning. By the end of the seventh, Avila had thrown 74 pitches.

Doosan finally seized their best opportunity of the game in the eighth inning. After one out, Ahn Jae-seok reached on a strikeout with a wild pitch, pinch-hitter Yang Seok-hwan drew a walk after a six-pitch at-bat, and Jo Su-haeng hit a ground ball between the pitcher and first baseman for an infield hit, creating a bases-loaded situation with one out. However, Jung Soobin was thrown out on a ground ball to shortstop, and Kim Ki-yeon flew out to left field, failing to score any runs.

Then came the top of the ninth inning—Doosan's final offensive opportunity. Avila charged energetically toward the mound again. As he leaped over the first-base foul line without touching it, SSG fans erupted in loud applause. By the eighth inning, he had thrown 93 pitches. He retired leadoff batter Park Chan-ho on a ground ball to second base and Oh Myung-jin on a fly ball to left field before allowing a hit to Kim Min-seok up the middle. The pitching coach visited the mound once, but Avila remained in the game. Yang Eui-ji was then retired on a fly ball to second base, sealing the victory.

Avila delivered a dominant 9-inning (101 pitches) performance with only 2 hits allowed, 1 walk, and 5 strikeouts without surrendering any runs, earning his first shutout in KBO League history. He also secured his fifth win of the season. This marks the first-ever shutout in SSG Landers franchise history since its establishment in 2021. In the lineup that produced a total of 5 hits, Jeon Ui-san recorded two hits including a multi-home run game. Conversely, Doosan's starting pitcher Park Shin-ji (59 pitches total) took the loss after allowing 3 earned runs on 3 hits and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts over 4 innings. He was followed by Yoon Tae-ho, Lee Yong-chan, Kim Young-hyun, and Seo Jun-o, each pitching one inning. Doosan's offense managed only scattered 3 hits in total.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original