Samsung Lions defeated the LG Twins 9-1 on Tuesday at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, marking their eighth consecutive victory for the first time in 4,373 days. The win pushed Samsung into second place in the KBO standings, while LG dropped to third.
The game remained tight through seven innings, with both starters delivering quality performances. Samsung’s Choi Won-tae pitched six shutout innings, allowing four hits, three walks, and four strikeouts. LG starter Lim Chan-kyu also held his own over 5.2 innings, giving up one run on six hits.
The turning point came in the top of the eighth with the score tied 1-1. With two outs and the bases loaded, Jeon Byung-woo crushed a 131 km/h slider from LG reliever Jang Hyun-sik over the left-field wall for his third career grand slam. The blast ignited the Samsung dugout and broke the deadlock.
Samsung continued to pile on in the ninth, as Lee Jae-hyun—returning from a three-week injury layoff—led off with a solo home run off Ham Deok-ju. The Lions added four more runs on five hits and a walk in the inning, sealing the convincing victory.
Despite the final score, the matchup between the second- and third-place teams featured a classic pitchers’ duel through the middle innings. LG hurt their own cause with untimely double plays in the second, third, sixth, and eighth innings, including a line-drive double play off Park Hae-min in the second and one by Austin Dean in the sixth.
In other KBO action, SSG Landers beat KT Wiz 5-1 to hold onto fourth place, handing first-place KT their second straight loss. Hanwha Eagles routed Kiwoom Heroes 11-5 with Noh Si-hwan hitting a grand slam to extend their winning streak to three games. Hanwha tied with KIA Tigers for sixth place after KIA fell 5-1 to Doosan Bears.
