The Kiwoom Heroes of professional baseball earned a shutout victory behind ace Raúl Alcántara's strong pitching.
Kiwoom defeated the SSG Landers 9-0 in an exhibition game of the 2026 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 21st. With the win, Kiwoom (3 wins, 1 tie, 5 losses) moved out of the bottom of the league.
Starting pitcher Raúl Alcántara recorded a win with 5 innings, 4 hits allowed, 2 strikeouts and no runs allowed. The bullpen—Yoon Seok-won (1 inning, no runs) - Oh Seok-joo (1 inning, no runs) - Park Jeong-hoon (1 inning, no runs) - Jo Young-geon (1 inning, no runs)—also preserved the team's victory with scoreless strong pitching.
Kiwoom set the starting lineup as Lee Ju-hyeong (center field), Trenton Brooks (designated hitter), Lim Ji-yeol (left field), Choi Joo-hwan (first base), Park Joo-hong (right field), Eo Jun-seo (shortstop), Kim Dong-heon (catcher), Oh Seon-jin (third base) and Park Han-gyeol (second base). Kiwoom's offense produced 14 hits and 1 home run that day. Choi Joo-hwan hit his first home run of the exhibition games and went 3-for-5 with 1 home run, 1 RBI and 3 runs scored. Eo Jun-seo also went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs and 1 run, and Lee Ju-hyeong, Oh Seon-jin and Lim Ji-yeol each had multi-hit games.
In the top of the second, with leadoff hitter Choi Joo-hwan reaching on a hit, Kiwoom saw Eo Jun-seo get a hit and Kim Dong-heon draw a walk to create a 1-out bases-loaded opportunity. Oh Seon-jin hit an RBI two-run single to seize the initiative. In the top of the third with one out, Choi Joo-hwan hit a solo home run to add another run.
In the fourth, Kiwoom created a 1-out, runner on second chance when leadoff hitter Oh Seon-jin singled and Park Han-gyeol executed a sacrifice bunt; Lee Ju-hyeong hit an RBI double and Lim Ji-yeol followed with an RBI single to make it 5-0. In the sixth, with two outs and the bases loaded, Eo Jun-seo delivered a two-run RBI single.
In the seventh, after leadoff hitter Oh Seon-jin reached on a hit, Brooks drew a walk and Lim Ji-yeol produced an RBI infield hit to add another run. In the ninth, taking advantage of a throwing error by shortstop Ahn Sang-hyeon, Kiwoom added one more run to reach 9-0.
Kiwoom manager Seol Jong-jin praised the pitchers' strong performance in a postgame interview, saying, "Alcántara took care of five innings perfectly like an ace. The relievers who followed also faithfully performed their roles. I was particularly impressed that Yoon Seok-won induced a double play to halt the momentum in the sixth with no outs and runners on first and second, and it's also positive that the pitching staff as a whole had no walks."
Manager Seol Jong-jin, who said, "The lineup showed an overall balanced performance," added, "Above all, it's encouraging that we hit well against the opposing ace. Oh Seon-jin's two-run single in the second lifted the mood, and Choi Joo-hwan also hit a decisive home run in the third."
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