Hope and despair coexisted. The LG Twins' trio of free-agent relievers all appeared at the same time in the Futures League.
Jang Hyun-sik, a 5.2 billion won pitcher who was sent down to the second team due to poor performance, and Ham Deok-ju, a 3.8 billion won pitcher, checked their stuff. Kim Kang-ryul, a 1.4 billion won pitcher, returned to a live game for the first time in eight months and threw one scoreless inning.
The game between the Lotte Giants and the LG Twins in the 2026 Futures League was held on the 22nd at LG Champions Park in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.
LG starter Jeong Woo-young took the mound and in the top of the first, with one out and a runner on third, allowed a run-scoring single to center by Shin Yun-hoo to give up the first run. He walked No Jin-hyeok with a four-seam fastball and struck out Kim Min-sung.
Jeong Woo-young was replaced after 2/3 innings (29 pitches), allowing one hit, two walks, two stolen bases and one run. He threw more balls (19) than strikes (12), and command problems persisted. His fastball peaked at 149 km and the lowest was 145 km.
Ham Deok-ju came in as the second pitcher with two outs and runners on first and second, struck out Lee In-han and ended the inning.
Ham Deok-ju, who also took the mound in the second inning, walked leadoff hitter Kim Dae-hyun but struck out Jeung Bo-keun and induced Yoon Su-nyeong into a grounder to second base to put out the lead runner at second. With two outs and a runner on first, he gave up a single to center to Kim Ho-beom creating a situation at first and third, but ended the inning without allowing a run by inducing a grounder to short by Choi Hang.
In the third, Ham Deok-ju retired Shin Yun-hoo on a fly to center, No Jin-hyeok on a grounder to third and Kim Min-sung on a fly to right for a three-up, three-down inning. Ham Deok-ju recorded 2 1/3 innings (31 pitches), one hit, one walk and no runs. His fastball peaked at 139 km. When he reaches 142–143 km, he is in good condition.
Kim Kang-ryul took the mound in the sixth with the score tied 1-1. His last appearance on the first-team stage last year was the May 11 game against Samsung. He rehabilitated for a shoulder injury and appeared in a Futures League game against Hanwha on Sept. 26 near the end of the season, then finished the season. It was his comeback game after eight months.
Kim Kang-ryul allowed an infield hit in front of the pitcher to leadoff hitter No Jin-hyeok. He struck out Kim Min-sung looking on a 3-pitch strikeout, then induced Lee In-han into a grounder to short to end the inning with a double play from second to first.
One inning (13 pitches), one hit, one strikeout, no runs. His fastball peaked at 149 km and the lowest was 144 km. He threw 10 fastballs, one slider, one curve and one forkball.
With the game tied 1-1 in the seventh, Jang Hyun-sik took the mound. The result was disastrous. He was hammered for 4 runs on 5 hits and one hit batsman in 1/3 of an inning and was charged with the loss.
As soon as Jang Hyun-sik came in, he gave up an opposite-center triple to leadoff hitter Kim Dae-hyun. Jeung Bo-keun's sacrifice fly made the score 1-2. He then allowed a single to right by Yoon Su-nyeong, a single to right by Kim Ho-beom, and hit Choi Hang with a pitch to load the bases with one out.
He gave up an infield hit to second base by Shin Yun-hoo for one run, and allowed a two-run single to right by No Jin-hyeok. The score became 1-5, and with one out at first and third, Jang Hyun-sik was pulled from the game.
Hay Hyun-gyu, who came in afterward, ended the inning with two flyouts without allowing additional runs, and Jang Hyun-sik finished the game having given up four runs. That day Jang Hyun-sik's fastball peaked at 145 km and the lowest was 142 km. He did not appear to be in normal condition.
Ham Deok-ju appeared on the 12th against Samsung in a game where the team trailed 1-5 and was charged with five runs on five hits and one walk without recording an out. His ERA skyrocketed from 4.73 to 7.43, and he was sent down to the second team the next day. Ham Deok-ju can be registered on the first-team roster starting the 23rd.
Jang Hyun-sik allowed back-to-back grand slams in two consecutive games on the 12th against Samsung at Jamsil and on the 15th against SSG. This season he has appeared in 19 games with a 4-2 record, 2 saves, 7 holds, an ERA of 5.50, and he was removed from the first-team roster on the 16th.
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