[mdtoday = Reporter Kim Kyosik] The LG Twins and Samsung Lions—both preseason favorites to contend for the title—stumbled out of the gate, each dropping both games of their opening two-game sets.
On March 29 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul’s Songpa District, defending champion LG fell 5-6 to the kt wiz in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League. After a 7-11 loss in Friday’s opener, LG surrendered both games of its home-opening series. Austin Dean, Moon Seong-ju and Oh Ji-hwan produced consecutive hits in the bottom of the third to knot the game at 3, and LG pushed ahead 5-3 in the fourth. kt rallied in the sixth when Heo Kyung-min belted a two-run homer to even the score.
In the ninth, facing LG closer Yoo Young-chan, kt put runners on first and third with no outs after back-to-back hits by Lee Jeong-hoon and Choi Won-jun. Kim Hyun-soo delivered the go-ahead RBI with a single to left—an ex‑Twins’ star who was last season’s Korean Series MVP against his former club.
At Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, Samsung dropped a 2-6 decision to the Lotte Giants, opening the season with two straight losses. Lotte, which hit three homers in Friday’s 6-3 victory, hammered four more on Sunday, reinforcing a sudden display of power.
After ranking last in the league with 75 team homers a year ago, Lotte has already gone deep seven times across the first two games. Son Ho-young opened the scoring in the fourth with a solo shot to center, and No Jin-hyeok followed with a solo to right-center in the fifth. In the seventh, Víctor Reyes crushed a three-run homer—his second straight game with a homer—and Son answered with a back-to-back blast to seal the win.
The Hanwha Eagles beat the Kiwoom Heroes 10-4 at home in Daejeon to secure a second straight win. After an 11th-inning 10-9 walk-off in the opener, Hanwha again produced 10 runs Sunday, showcasing a potent lineup. Kang Baek-ho—signed as a free agent to a four-year deal reportedly worth up to 10 billion KRW (7.5 million USD)—drove in five runs, including his first homer for Hanwha, and continued his hot start after delivering the opener’s walk-off. Starter Wang Yen-cheng allowed three runs over 5 1/3 innings and became the first of this year’s Asian-quota players to record a win.
SSG Landers outslugged the KIA Tigers 11-6 in Incheon. Ko Myung-jun homered in back-to-back innings (the third and fourth), and Guillermo Heredia hit a three-run shot in the third as SSG jumped out to a 9-0 lead through three innings and took control early. KIA’s struggles on Sundays continued—the club has now lost nine straight Sunday games dating back to last July.
With kt, Lotte, Hanwha and SSG sweeping their two-game openers, only the Doosan Bears and NC Dinos split their opening sets. Doosan trailed NC 0-4 through the fifth in Changwon but rallied to tie it 6-6 on two-run homers from Yang Seok-hwan in the seventh and Daz Cameron in the eighth.
In the eighth, Kim Min-seok launched a go-ahead three-run homer to hand new manager Kim Won-hyung his first win. NC’s winning streak—extended to 10 straight through Saturday after finishing last season on a nine-game run—came to an end on Sunday.
All five stadiums were sold out Sunday, marking the second consecutive year every venue posted capacity crowds for the two-game openers. Total attendance across the 10 opening games reached 211,756—the third-highest total on record behind 2025 (219,900) and 2019 (214,324). The five games produced 16 homers, giving weekend fans plenty to cheer about.
