[MyDaily = Gocheok Reporter Kim Kyung-hyun] The Kiwoom Heroes rode dominant outings from Ahn Woo-jin and Bae Dong-hyun to a 6-4 victory over the Samsung Lions, handing Samsung its fifth straight loss.
Kiwoom beat Samsung 6-4 on April 24 at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League home game.
Kiwoom improved to 8-15. With the Lotte Giants (7-15) also losing that day, the Heroes climbed to ninth place. Samsung, now mired in a five-game skid, remained fourth at 12-1-9 (W-D-L).
▲ Starting lineups
Kiwoom: Park Ju-hong (RF) - Trenton Brooks (LF) - An Chi-hong (2B) - Im Ji-yeol (DH) - Kim Gun-hee (C) - Choi Joo-hwan (1B) - Kim Ji-seok (3B) - Park Su-jong (CF) - Oh Seon-jin (SS); starting pitcher Ahn Woo-jin.
Samsung: 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 LHP Lee Seung-hyun.
Ahn came out throwing heat. In the first inning he induced a center-field fly from Kim Ji-chan, struck out Park Seung-gyu swinging and fanned Ryu Ji-hyuk looking. TrackMan clocked his fourth pitch to Park at 160.3 km/h (99.6 mph).
Kiwoom officials said it was both Ahn’s personal best and the fastest pitch recorded in the 2026 KBO season. He also set the previous season mark — a 159.6 km/h (99.2 mph) heater to Hwang Seong-bin on April 12 against Lotte.
Despite the velocity, Ahn surrendered the first run. With two outs in the top of the third, Kim Ji-chan rolled a triple to the right-field fence, and Park Seung-gyu followed with an RBI single to center. Ahn closed the inning by striking out Ryu Ji-hyuk swinging.
Kiwoom responded immediately. In the bottom of the third, Oh Seon-jin’s single and Park Ju-hong’s double set the table — Park’s two-bagger also marked Kiwoom’s 35,000th franchise hit, the ninth time in club history. Brooks tied the game with a sacrifice fly, then An Chi-hong delivered an RBI double and Im Ji-yeol added an RBI single. Kim Gun-hee drew a walk to load the bases with one out, and Im Ji-yeol was later tagged out trying a surprise steal of third.
Just when momentum might have shifted, Choi Joo-hwan’s mis-hit found a gap and produced a base hit. Samsung removed starter Lee Seung-hyun for Lim Ki-young, and Kim Ji-seok laced Lim’s sixth pitch — an outside fastball — into left for an RBI single. Park Su-jong struck out to end a long third inning, and Kiwoom left the frame ahead 4-1 after the four-run outburst.
Samsung fought back in the fifth. With two outs and nobody on, Ryu Ji-hyuk hammered a hanger from reliever Bae Dong-hyun over the right-field wall for a solo homer — his third of the season.
Kiwoom put the game further out of reach in the sixth. Samsung turned to Bae Chan-seung, and leadoff hitter Oh Seon-jin hit a routine grounder that Ryu Ji-hyuk failed to handle — a throwing error by the second baseman. Park Ju-hong walked to put runners on first and second with no outs. A wild pitch advanced the runners, and Brooks followed with a two-run single that dropped in front of the right fielder.
The Heroes then escaped a key threat. In the seventh, after one out, Park Seung-gyu and Ryu Ji-hyuk singled back-to-back, and Brooks misplayed a fly to left, allowing Park to reach third. Pinch-hitter Ryu Seung-min struck out. Diaz experienced tightness on his right side and was removed as a precaution. Choi Hyung-woo drew a walk to load the bases with two outs, and Bae Dong-hyun worked a full count before getting Jeon Byung-woo to swing and miss on a 145 km/h (90.1 mph) high fastball to end the jam.
Samsung kept pushing. In the eighth, pinch-hitter Kim Do-hwan crushed a solo homer to left off Kim Jae-woong for his first of the season. Later in the inning, Kim Ji-chan reached on an infield single, and Park Seung-gyu ripped a hard gap shot between third and short, but shortstop Oh Seon-jin slid and made the catch to turn a force at second.
Yuto Kanakubo entered to close the ninth. After a one-out hit by Shim Jae-hoon and Choi Hyung-woo’s RBI single to left-center made it 6-4, a walk to Jeon Byung-woo loaded the bases with one out. Kanakubo regained his composure and recorded the final two outs to secure the 6-4 win.
Ahn finished with three innings, two hits, one walk, six strikeouts and one run allowed. Bae Dong-hyun tossed four innings in relief, giving up seven hits and two walks while striking out six and allowing one run to earn his fourth win of the season (undefeated). Yuto picked up his third save after allowing one run in an inning.
Lee Seung-hyun took the loss, lasting 2 2/3 innings and surrendering six hits, two walks and four runs with one strikeout — his second loss of the season. Reliever Kim Tae-hoon, making his first top-division appearance, threw a clean inning and allowed one hit. Samsung managed 13 hits (two homers) but only four runs, while Kiwoom plated six runs on 12 hits.
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