KBO 2026: Key Players Shine as Kiwoom Heroes Defeat Samsung Lions 6-4

Gocheok, Seoul — SPOTV News reporter Park Seung-hwan: The Kiwoom Heroes rode the Ahn Woo-jin–Bae Dong-hyun combo to another victory, while the Samsung Lions stranded a staggering 13 runners and fell into a fifth straight defeat.

Kiwoom defeated the Samsung Lions 6-4 on April 24 at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome in the 2026 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League.

# Kiwoom lineup

Park Joo-hong (RF) - Trenton Brooks (LF) - An Chi-hong (2B) - Im Ji-yeol (DH) - Kim Geon-hee (C) - Choi Joo-hwan (1B) - Kim Ji-seok (3B) - Park Su-jong (CF) - Oh Seon-jin (SS), starting pitcher Ahn Woo-jin.

# Samsung lineup

Kim Ji-chan (CF) - Park Seung-gyu (RF) - Ryu Ji-hyuk (2B) - Lewin Diaz (1B) - Choi Hyung-woo (LF) - Jeon Byung-woo (3B) - Kang Min-ho (DH) - Park Se-hyuk (C) - Yang Woo-hyun (SS), starting pitcher Lee Seung-hyun.

Samsung struck first. In the bottom of the third, with two outs and nobody on, Kim Ji-chan ripped a triple to right off Kiwoom starter Ahn Woo-jin. Park Seung-gyu followed with consecutive hits to open the scoring for Samsung.

Ahn, making his third appearance since returning to the first team, touched a personal best of 160.3 km after TrackMan data became the KBO’s official speed measurement. He gave up the game’s first and only run in the third but finished with a strong line: 3 innings, 2 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts and 1 earned run. That performance set the table for Kiwoom’s rally.

Kiwoom answered in the bottom of the third. Leadoff hitter Oh Seon-jin opened the inning with a single off Samsung starter Lee Seung-hyun. Park Joo-hong followed with a double to right, creating a runners-on-second-and-third opportunity. Trenton Brooks delivered a sacrifice fly to tie the game, and Kiwoom kept the momentum. An Chi-hong and Im Ji-yeol drove in runs, and Choi Joo-hwan added an RBI single to complete a 4-1 turnaround and seize control.

Samsung didn’t go quietly. In the top of the fifth, with two outs and no one on, Ryu Ji-hyuk pulled a 116 km curveball for a solo homer off Kiwoom’s reliever Bae Dong-hyun, trimming the deficit to two. Kiwoom answered in the bottom of the sixth, when Brooks drove in two to push the lead to 6-2.

After Ahn exited, Samsung frequently put runners on base and into scoring position against Bae but failed to capitalize. In the top of the eighth, pinch-hitter Kim Do-hwan homered off reliever Kim Jae-woong to pull Samsung closer, and they threatened again in the ninth.

Still, Samsung couldn’t turn the tide, leaving 13 runners on base and dropping their fifth straight game. To make matters worse, an already injury-hit roster lost Lewin Diaz to right-side back tightness, forcing a substitution and turning this into one of their worst days.