On the 18th at Daegu Samsung Lions Park, the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League game between the Samsung Lions and the LG Twins. That day Samsung recorded a 7-2 rout, but what shone more than the score was the close camaraderie of Samsung's bullpen, who backed each other up in every crisis.
The incident occurred suddenly in the top of the fourth. Starter O'Roclin, who had been pitching well, was ejected after throwing a head shot at LG Oh Ji-hwan after one out. Lee Seung-min, who took over the mound without time to prepare, seemed rattled after yielding a hit to the first batter Cheon Seong-ho, but he erased the inning with no runs after Hong Chang-gi handled him with an infield grounder double play in front of the pitcher.
But the crises repeated. In the top of the fifth, after Lee Seung-min allowed a double to Park Dong-won and a hit to Park Hae-min, creating a 2-out, runners at first and third crisis, Bae Chan-seung was brought in. Bae Chan-seung neutralized Austin with a shortstop grounder and prevented veteran Lee Seung-min's run-scoring crisis. In the dugout Lee Seung-min hugged Bae Chan-seung tightly to show his gratitude.
In the sixth, when Bae Chan-seung faced a 1-out, bases loaded crisis, Lee Seung-hyun came out as a relief pitcher. Lee Seung-hyun struck out Park Dong-won on a sharp swing and then handled Shin Min-jae with a grounder to second. Bae Chan-seung, who had been watching the game in the dugout with his hands clasped desperately, sighed in relief and applauded when the crisis was resolved. Lee Seung-hyun warmly hugged and encouraged the grateful younger pitcher Bae Chan-seung from behind.
After the game Lee Seung-min said, "When I was coming out, Chan-seung was coming in, so I believed he would hold it down. Thanks to Chan-seung, I think I could be the winning pitcher," as he passed the ball around. Lee Seung-hyun, who saved Bae Chan-seung, also laughed, "Last year Chan-seung saved a lot of my runners, and I thought I hadn't been able to repay him. Today I think I paid back a little."
Like manager Park Jin-man's remark, "Right now we are hanging on more with the bullpen than with hitting," Samsung's bullpen, which covers each other's mistakes and shares and bears crises, has emerged this season as the Lions' powerful weapon of "trust baseball."
[OSEN]