The professional baseball Samsung Lions swept the opening two-game series against the Kiwoom Heroes.

Samsung won 11-7 in the home game against Kiwoom at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on the 23rd. Lewin Diaz (2), Park Byung-ho, and Kim Young-woong hit home runs, leading the charge to overcome the Kiwoom mound. With this, Samsung achieved two consecutive victories at home. On the other hand, Kiwoom suffered a bitter losing streak despite sending out their 1st and 2nd starters. Foreign hitter Ruben Cardenas exploded for a grand slam.

Samsung, which featured left-handed starter Baek Jung-hyun, formed its starting lineup with center fielder Kim Ji-chan, second baseman Ryu Ji-hyeok, left fielder Gu Ja-wook, catcher Kang Min-ho, first baseman Lewin Diaz, designated hitter Park Byung-ho, right fielder Kim Hun-gon, third baseman Kim Young-woong, and shortstop Lee Jae-hyun.

In response, Kiwoom constructed their batting order with designated hitter Yasiel Puig, center fielder Lee Joo-hyung, right fielder Ruben Cardenas, second baseman Song Seong-moon, catcher Kim Dong-heon, first baseman Choi Joo-hwan, third baseman Yeo Dong-wook, shortstop Lee Jae-sang, and left fielder Park Joo-hong. The starting pitcher was Ha Young-min.

Samsung launched an attack, completing a big inning in the second. After two outs, Kim Hun-gon started with a hit to left-center, followed by right fielder Kim Young-woong's hit and shortstop Lee Jae-hyun's hit, allowing them to score the first run.

Continuing with chances on first and second base, Kim Ji-chan made an infield hit, loading the bases. Ryu Ji-hyeok hit a single to left field, bringing home two runners. Soon after, Gu Ja-wook's ground ball was not handled properly by shortstop Lee Jae-sang, allowing for another run.

Counterattacking, Kiwoom seized a bases-loaded opportunity with two outs in the third inning, and Choi Joo-hwan's single to right field brought in two runs. Then, Samsung's lead-off hitter Diaz hit a solo home run to right-center in the third inning, extending the lead to 5-2. Kiwoom closed the gap by scoring one more run in the fourth inning with Puig's hit, Lee Joo-hyung getting hit by a pitch, and Cardenas' timely hit.

In the fifth inning, after two outs, Kim Young-woong hit his first home run of the season after a full-count battle with Kim Yeon-joo. In the sixth, Park Byung-ho hit a two-run homer to extend the lead to 8-3. Samsung added another run in the seventh on Ryu Ji-hyeok's sacrifice fly to left field. Kiwoom narrowed the lead to two runs with Cardenas' grand slam in the eighth inning. However, there was no dramatic conclusion. In the eighth inning, Diaz hit a key two-run home run.

Samsung deployed a mound attack with starters Baek Jung-hyun, Yang Chang-seop, Lee Jae-hee, Kim Tae-hoon, Bae Chan-seung, Im Chang-min, Lee Seung-hyun (No. 20), and Kim Jae-yoon following Baek Jung-hyun. Notably, Bae Chan-seung, making his first appearance in the first team, managed to keep Park Joo-hong, Puig, and Lee Joo-hyung tied up, reaching a top speed of 155 km/h.

Leading the way was Diaz, who hit multi-home runs with 2 hits in 5 at-bats, 3 RBIs, and 2 runs. Other key hitters like Kim Ji-chan (3 hits in 5 at-bats, 1 run), Ryu Ji-hyeok (2 hits in 3 at-bats, 3 RBIs), Kim Young-woong (3 hits in 4 at-bats, 1 home run, 1 RBI, 2 runs), and Kim Hun-gon (2 hits in 4 at-bats, 1 run) also contributed evenly.

Kiwoom starter Ha Young-min was ineffective, allowing 8 hits (1 home run) in 3 innings, with 3 strikeouts and giving up 5 runs (4 earned).

[OSEN]