LG Twins pulled off a thrilling comeback victory over Kiwoom Heroes, thanks to a dramatic walk-off three-run homer by Park Hae-min with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
The Twins secured a 6-4 walk-off win at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in the regular season home matchup.
With this triumph, LG concluded the weekend three-game series with a winning record of two victories and one loss, improving their season standing to 28 wins and 19 losses. The team now sits alone in second place, just half a game behind league-leading Samsung Lions.
Meanwhile, Kiwoom squandered a game that seemed well in hand, dropping to ninth place with a record of 20 wins, 28 losses, and one draw.
The game’s fate turned in the bottom of the ninth with two outs.
Trailing 3-4, LG sent up pinch-hitter Lee Jae-won, who hit a shallow pop-up. The game appeared destined to end in Kiwoom’s favor. However, a critical defensive breakdown occurred when second baseman Seo Gun-chang, center fielder Park Su-jong, and right fielder Park Ju-hong miscommunicated on the pop fly, allowing the ball to drop for a costly “no-call play” error.
Suddenly, LG had a runner on second base with two outs. Hong Chang-ki then drew a walk, putting runners on first and second.
Stepping into the batter’s box, Park Hae-min engaged in an intense seven-pitch battle with Kiwoom closer Kanakubo Yuto. He finally pulled a 154 km/h inside fastball, launching a go-ahead three-run blast over the right-field wall. It marked Park’s first home run of the season and the first walk-off homer of his professional career.
Through the middle innings, Kiwoom controlled the contest.
In the top of the fourth, leadoff hitter Lim Byung-wook doubled and Choi Ju-hwan delivered an RBI hit to open the scoring. Kiwoom then exploded for four runs as Lee Hyung-jong and Kim Woong-bin followed with consecutive hits, and Park Sung-bin and Kwon Hyuk-bin added back-to-back RBI singles.
LG starter Song Seung-ki crumbled early, lasting only 3⅓ innings while surrendering four runs.
LG mounted their counterattack in the bottom of the sixth.
With two outs and runners on first and second, Oh Ji-hwan ripped an RBI double, followed by Cheon Seong-ho’s two-run double that trimmed the deficit to 3-4.
The bullpen held firm, surrendering zero runs to set the stage for the comeback. Then Park Hae-min’s ninth-inning heroics sealed the miraculous victory.
In his postgame interview, Park explained his approach: “I watched the opposing pitcher throw only fastballs to the previous batters, so I committed to looking for one fastball. Baseball is a game of probabilities. Even if I swung and missed at a breaking ball, I accepted that risk. Going in boldly with that mindset produced a great result.”