"Amazing" — LG's injured players: Gou Seok, Son Ju-young, Yoo Young-chan, and Kim Jin-seong are all out, yet they still managed to win... The "collective closer" gamble paid off [WC1 On-site]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The "injury ward" LG Twins defeated the Doosan Bears, who had no one left in their bullpen, to secure a spot in the Junior Playoffs.

On the 14th, LG won 4-1 against Doosan in Game 1 of the 2026 KBO Postseason Wild Card Decider held at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

Having finished the regular season in 4th place this year, LG needed just one more win to advance to the Junior Playoffs. With this victory, they secured a ticket to Gwangju without having to play a second Wild Card game.

LG will now rest for two days before facing the KIA Tigers in Game 1 of the Junior Playoffs at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field at 2:00 p.m. on the 17th. The opponent is the KIA Tigers, who finished the regular season in 3rd place this season.

LG, which had been running with the top tier this season, showed signs of struggling toward the end of the campaign. As injuries piled up, they ultimately finished the regular season in 4th place rather than 3rd. Had they won their final regular-season game against KIA, they would have advanced directly to the Junior Playoffs, but they ended up bowing out even in that final matchup.

Most importantly, they lacked a closer. With Yoo Young-chan, LG's original closer, sidelined due to surgery, Son Ju-young took over the role.

Son Ju-young appeared in 47 games this season, recording a 1-2 record with 31 saves and an ERA of 3.22, anchoring LG's back end. Over a total of 50⅓ innings this year, he posted detailed stats including 46 hits allowed (2 home runs), 32 walks, 50 strikeouts, 18 runs allowed (18 earned), 5 blown saves, a Walks plus Hits per Inning Pitched (WHIP) of 1.55, and a batting average against of 0.246.

However, even Son Ju-young was unable to make the roster for this Wild Card Decider due to injury. Before the game, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop spoke about Son's condition: "He has herniated discs in his cervical spine at C6 and C7. He received an injection treatment, but the training staff said it would likely be difficult for him to play in the Wild Card round. We need to monitor the results of the treatment. Even if we advance to the Junior Playoffs, we must check his condition."

Adding to this, Go Woo-seok, who joined LG late in the season, was completely unable to participate in the postseason due to player registration deadline issues. Furthermore, Kim Jin-seong, known for his "self-sacrificing" role, also departed. Kim was diagnosed with a minor tear in his right shoulder's infraspinatus muscle on August 19 and was removed from the first division roster. Initially, a rehabilitation period of about three to four weeks was expected, but his recovery has been slow. Manager Yeom also expressed regret ahead of the Jamsil game against Doosan on the 7th, stating, "(Kim) Jin-seong's recovery is also delayed, so at this point, I am considering him out of the lineup," and "I don't think there are any new players available to step in under current circumstances."

Therefore, bullpen management was even more critical for LG on this day. Before the game, Manager Yeom said, "If a save situation arises, we will have to operate using the method we employed early in the season when Yoo Young-chan was absent," and "Considering various factors such as opposing batter data and batting order, I think we should adopt a collective closer system for the Wild Card round."

And ultimately, LG won. Starting pitcher KARA Suko perfectly fulfilled his role with 6 innings pitched, 4 hits allowed, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, and 1 run allowed (1 earned). He threw a total of 84 pitches. Kennedy then took the mound. Kennedy also completed his mission with 1 inning pitched, 1 hit batter, 1 strikeout, and no runs allowed. Following him, Kim Jin-su pitched ⅓ of an inning and Lee Woo-chan pitched ⅔ of an inning, while Kim Kang-ryul took the mound in the 9th inning to successfully protect a three-run lead.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original