Samsung Reclaims 2nd Place · Hanwha Jumps to 5th, KBO League Standings

Samsung Defeats SSG, Chasing 1st Place LG by 1.5 Games

The Samsung Lions have reclaimed second place, accelerating their pursuit of the leader. Samsung won 6-4 in an away game against the SSG Landers of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League, held at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 3rd. With this victory, Samsung secured their second consecutive win and closed the gap with the first-place LG Twins to 1.5 games. Meanwhile, 9th-place SSG recorded their 7th consecutive loss.

Samsung took control of the momentum from the early stages of the game. In the bottom of the 1st inning with one out and a runner on third, Koo Ja-wook hit an RBI single to left-center to take the lead. In the 2nd inning, Ryu Ji-hyuk and Kang Min-ho drew consecutive walks to create a chance with runners on first and third and no outs. This was followed by Jeon Byeong-woo's RBI single and Koo Ja-wuk's 2-RBI single to center, allowing Samsung to pull ahead 4-0.

SSG's comeback attempt began in the bottom of the 6th inning. Ko Myeong-jun hit a solo home run to left-center to narrow the gap to 6-2, and in the bottom of the 8th, Ko Myeong-jun added another solo home run to center to close the gap to 6-3. Samsung's closer Kim Jae-yoon, who came in during the 9th, secured the victory by retiring all three batters he faced.

Kim Jae-yun's performance was also noteworthy. Recording his 21st save of the season, Kim reached the milestone of 214 career saves. This places him tied for 5th all-time in KBO League saves alongside the retired Koo Dae-sung. Samsung's Choi Hyoung-woo recorded 2 hits, 2 RBIs, and 1 run in 5 at-bats, including his 11th home run of the season.

Hanwha's Kang Baek-ho and No Si-hwan Power Home Runs, Jumping to 5th Place

At Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, the Hanwha Eagles crushed the leader LG Twins 8-1, led by home runs from Kang Baek-ho and No Si-hwan. With this win, Hanwha moved up to 5th place in the league, pushing the Doosan Bears down. In the top of the 6th inning with the score tied 0-0, Kang Baek-ho hit a solo home run to left field to take the lead.

Hanwha's offense exploded in the top of the 8th inning. After opposing starter Lachlan Wells was removed, Hanwha scored 5 runs to extend their lead to 6-0. With one out and runners on first and third, Kang Baek-ho hit a sacrifice fly to left to make it 2-0, followed by No Si-hwan's two-run home run to right field. With two outs and runners on first and second, Lee Do-yun secured the victory with a 2-RBI double to left-center.

Kang Baek-ho completed a multi-home run game by adding another two-run home run to left field in the 9th inning. Recording 2 hits, 4 RBIs, and 2 runs in 4 at-bats, Kang has blasted 7 home runs in his last 10 games. The 5th batter, No Si-hwan, also recorded 1 hit, 2 RBIs, and 1 run in 5 at-bats. No has hit 6 home runs in his last 9 games.

Lotte's Han Dong-hee Hits Multi-Home Runs, Crushing kt wiz

At Suwon kt wiz Park, the 8th-place Lotte Giants defeated the 3rd-place kt wiz 4-0, powered by two home runs from Han Dong-hee and a strong pitching performance from Kim Jin-uk. Han Dong-hee hit a two-run home run to center field in the top of the 4th inning with one out and a runner on first, and then hit a two-run insurance home run to right field in the top of the 8th. Han recorded 2 hits, 1 walk, 4 RBIs, and 2 runs in 3 at-bats.

On the mound, Kim Jin-uk pitched brilliantly, allowing 5 hits, 1 walk, 1 hit-by-pitch, and recording 7 strikeouts with zero runs over 6⅓ innings. With this game, Kim earned his 5th win (3 losses) of the season.

The 7th-place NC Dinos secured a massive 11-3 victory against the 4th-place KIA Tigers at Gwangju Kia Champions Field. NC decided the game in the top of the 7th inning by adding 4 more runs, including a 3-RBI double by Kim Hwi-jip.