Professional baseball SSG Landers' Kim Kwang-hyun (37) achieved his first victory of the season in his first start.

On the 23rd, Kim Kwang-hyun made a start against the Doosan Bears in the '2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League' at Incheon SSG Landers Field, recording a win with 5⅔ innings pitched, 7 hits allowed, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts, and 2 earned runs.

In the first inning, Kim Kwang-hyun struck out the leadoff hitter Kim Min-seok with a swinging Samjin and caught Kim Jae-hwan with a fly out to left field. Yang Eui-ji was allowed to go on a walk, but Kim Kwang-hyun easily ended the inning by handling Jake Cave with a ground ball to first base. In the second inning, he also struck out the leadoff hitter Kang Seung-ho with a swinging Samjin, and although he allowed a hit to Yang Seok-hwan, he wrapped up the inning without facing significant danger by getting Park Joon-young and Lee Yoo-chan out.

After wrapping up the third inning with a clean three-up, three-down, Kim Kwang-hyun also struck out both Yang Eui-ji and Cave in the fourth inning, where SSG was leading 2-0. However, he allowed a double to Kang Seung-ho and then permitted Yang Seok-hwan an infield single, putting him in a 2 outs, 1 and 3 runner crisis, and he issued a walk to Park Joon-young, creating an bases-loaded crisis. Eventually, he allowed a one-run hit to Lee Yoo-chan. In the following bases-loaded, 2 outs situation, Jeong Soo-bin was caught with a ground ball to second base, thus not losing the lead.

In the fifth inning, after allowing a hit to the leadoff hitter Kim Min-seok, Kim Kwang-hyun faced the key hitters of Doosan, handling Kim Jae-hwan (fly out to right), Kim Ki-yeon (fly out to right), and Cave (strikeout) to end the inning without facing much risk. In the sixth inning, he faced a no outs, 2nd base crisis after allowing a double to leadoff hitter Kang Seung-ho. While he struck out both Yang Seok-hwan and Park Joon-young, he ultimately permitted a one-run hit to Lee Yoo-chan, allowing the opposing team to score. Kim Kwang-hyun withdrew in the sixth inning with 2 outs, and Ha Doo-sol substituted for him, catching Jeong Soo-bin with a foul fly to third base, thus preventing additional runs for the opponent. SSG won 5-2, securing their second consecutive victory since the opening.

Kim Kwang-hyun recorded a total of 99 pitches, using 44 sliders, 25 fastballs, 15 curves, and 15 changeups against the Doosan lineup. His fastball reached a maximum speed of 147 km/h, and his slider also peaked at 142 km/h. He recorded a strike rate of 63.6%, showing an active engagement with batters.

In a post-game interview, Kim Kwang-hyun noted, "I feel good as I made a good start. Last year, I had some struggles, but I managed to finish my first game well. The final batter was a bit disappointing, but overall, I felt like my condition was not bad, and unlike I feared, the weather was favorable for pitching."

"Today, I was scheduled to throw around 95 to 100 pitches," Kim Kwang-hyun said. "I felt I had plenty of energy left. I got hits from Lee Yoo-chan in every at-bat, so I think I got a bit greedy. So, throwing another batter gave them an extra run. Still, the fact that I threw 99 pitches without losing power is very encouraging."

Smiling, Kim Kwang-hyun said to the reporters, "We are doing well, aren't we?" He continued, "The younger players did extremely well. There are a few injured players, but the younger ones played their roles excellently, and the results were great in both games. Honestly, I want to say more about these younger players than about my personal interview. Our team is evaluated as aging, and there are many concerns about that, and I think this opening series helped dispel such thoughts. I hope to inspire the young players from the sidelines and wish to become a leading player who can guide the Landers."

SSG secured their second consecutive victory since the opening and is tied for the league lead alongside Samsung and LG. Kim Kwang-hyun stated, "We're doing really well, but there are still 142 games left. We shouldn't get too excited just because we won two games today, and at some point, we will experience a losing streak. I hope we can enjoy playing baseball together even during those times." He added, "Baseball is really unpredictable. You have to experience it to understand. I tell the players not to give up early, even if we lose. I hope we can play dynamically and enjoy baseball as we aim for fall baseball."

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