Professional baseball team Kiwoom Heroes finished the exhibition games with a two-game winning streak over the LG Twins.
Kiwoom defeated LG 5-2 on the final game of the 2026 KBO League exhibition games held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 24th. Kiwoom and LG both finished the exhibition games with 5 wins, 1 draw and 6 losses.
An Chi-hong contributed with two hits in four at-bats and four RBIs, including a two-run homer. Kiwoom starting pitcher Wiles earned the win after 5 innings, allowing 4 hits, 1 strikeout, no walks and no runs. His fastball topped out at 148km. He threw 39 fastballs, 11 changeups, 7 sliders and 5 curveballs.
Afterward, the fire-relief pitchers Kim Jae-woong (1 inning, 1 run), Kim Sung-jin (1 inning, no runs), Yuto (1 inning, no runs) and Jeon Jun-pyo (1 inning, no runs) followed.
Kiwoom started with Lee Ju-hyeong (center fielder), An Chi-hong (designated hitter), Brooks (first baseman), Choi Joo-hwan (third baseman), Im Ji-yeol (left fielder), Eo Jun-seo (shortstop), Kim Keon-hee (catcher), Park Han-gyeol (second baseman) and Lee Hyeong-jong (right fielder). Except for the left fielder and right fielder, it is the best opening-day lineup.
LG started with Hong Chang-ki (right fielder), Park Hae-min (center fielder), Austin (first baseman), Park Dong-won (designated hitter), Moon Sung-ju (left fielder), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Gu Bon-hyeok (second baseman), Cheon Seong-ho (third baseman) and Lee Ju-heon (catcher).
Starting second baseman Shin Min-jae sprained the pinky finger of his right hand while sliding into second base in the exhibition game against Samsung on the 21st. He experienced a tingling symptom and has missed the next three games in a row. Manager Youm Kyoung-youb said there is no problem for him to play in the opening game.
LG starting pitcher Son Ju-yeong allowed 5 hits, 1 home run, 2 strikeouts and 3 runs in 1⅔ innings. Son Ju-yeong, who started against Australia in the WBC group stage on the 9th and was replaced after throwing one inning due to elbow pain, returned to the mound after 15 days and pitched without any abnormalities in his condition.
The biggest gain was throwing 42 pitches with a healthy body rather than the results. His fastball topped out at 147km. He threw 19 fastballs, 10 sliders, 9 curveballs and 4 forkballs.
In the first inning, leadoff hitter Lee Ju-hyeong reached on an infield single to center. Then An Chi-hong lifted Son Ju-yeong's slider over the left-field wall for a two-run homer. An Chi-hong's hot hitting of three hits and four RBIs the day before continued with a homer in his first at-bat that day. Kiwoom took a 2-0 lead.
Kiwoom added a run in the second inning. Leadoff hitter Eo Jun-seo reached with a single to left, and Kim Keon-hee followed with a single to left to create a 1st-and-2nd scoring chance. Park Han-gyeol's grounder to the pitcher resulted in the lead runner being out at second, creating 1 out with runners at first and third. A throwing error on a pickoff attempt by pitcher Son Ju-yeong allowed the runner at third to score, making it 3-0.
Son Ju-yeong struck out Lee Hyeong-jong and was replaced with two outs and a runner on second. ?k Jun came in, struck out Lee Ju-hyeong and ended the inning.
Kiwoom added another run in the fourth inning to pull away. Facing the replacement pitcher Baek Seung-hyeon, after one out Kim Keon-hee hit a single to right, and with two outs and a runner on first, Lee Hyeong-jong hit a single to right to create a 1st-and-3rd. Lee Ju-hyeong drew a walk to load the bases with two outs, and An Chi-hong added an RBI single to right for two RBIs. They led 5-0.
In the fourth inning, after Park Hae-min popped out to center, Austin reached on a single to left. Park Dong-won also hit a single to left that got past the third baseman's reach, creating a scoring chance with runners on first and second.
However, the ball hit by Moon Sung-ju was directed toward the second-base area, and the shortstop, positioned for the shift, fielded it, stepped on second base and threw to first for a double play, ending the inning.
LG scored one run in the sixth to avoid a shutout. After two outs, Austin hit a solo homer over the center of the fence against left-hander Kim Jae-woong. He connected on a 3-1 count fastball (140km) for a home run with a distance of 129.5m. The batted-ball speed was 172.5km.
In the bottom of the ninth, against replacement pitcher Jeon Jun-pyo, LG created a no-out, runners on first and second chance with Park Hae-min's single to left and Austin's single to center. Pinch-hitter Lee Jae-won's grounder to third resulted in the lead runner being out at second, creating 1 out with runners on first and third.
Moon Sung-ju drew a walk to load the bases with one out. Oh Ji-hwan drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 5-2. Kiwoom pulled Jeon Jun-pyo and brought in left-hander Park Jeong-hoon as a relief pitcher. Gu Bon-hyeok grounded into a shortstop-led double play to end the game. <
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