[Sports Seoul | Jamsil = Yunsik Kang] “The season is still long, and there’s a lot left to play for.”
LG starter Lachlan Wells (27) surrendered nothing over eight innings and carried his club to a 3-0 win. He threw 84 pitches through eight frames. A shutout was within reach, but the manager opted to pull him before the ninth to avoid overworking him with so much of the season still ahead.
LG beat Hanwha 3-0 on April 22 at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul in a 2026 KBO League regular-season game. By taking the second game after winning the opener, LG secured a winning midweek series in the three-game set.
Wells was the game’s standout, building on his previous strong outing (7 innings, 1 run). He delivered a dominant start: eight innings, one hit, one walk, seven strikeouts and no runs. He picked up his second win of the season. Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop praised Wells and his battery mate, catcher Park Dong-won.
After the game, Yeom said, “Park used all of Wells’ pitches effectively and mixed them well. With Wells pitching aggressively, he gave us his best outing this season and earned the win.”
Wells might have been disappointed not to finish the shutout, but Yeom felt he’d already thrown enough and made the change to protect him for the rest of the season.
Yeom explained, “Wells wanted to keep going, but we removed him so we wouldn’t overwork him. Once a pitcher tops about 80 pitches, the fatigue is almost the same as throwing 100. I treated today as if he’d used more than 100 units of stamina. There will be other opportunities for a shutout—the season is long,” he said, offering consolation to Wells.
The manager also credited the offense for producing at key moments. He singled out Song Chan-ui, who hit his first homer of the season in the bottom of the second, and Moon Seong-ju, who added an RBI single in the fifth.
“Song’s two-run homer swung the momentum in our favor,” Yeom said. “When we needed an insurance run, Moon delivered.”
He added, “We had several more opportunities but failed to cash in, so the game stayed tense until the end. Moon finished with three hits and one RBI; Song had two hits, a homer and two RBIs. I hope Song gains confidence from today’s game and takes a step forward in his development.”
Finally, Yeom thanked the fans for filling the stands on a midweek night, saying their support helped the team earn back-to-back wins. skywalker@sportsseoul.com
