The LG Twins defeated the Lotte Giants to become the first team to reach 40 wins, firmly holding onto first place. New foreign pitcher Yacksel Rios threw a 160.8 km/h fastball, breaking the record for the fastest pitch in the KBO League this season.
LG won 5-3 in their home game against Lotte in the 2026 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Friday. With the victory, LG secured 40 wins (24 losses) on the season, holding sole possession of first place. Lotte, meanwhile, remained in ninth place at 24 wins, one draw and 38 losses.
LG took control from early in the game. In the bottom of the first inning, consecutive hits by Hong Chang-ki and Park Hae-min created a no-out, first-and-third situation, and Park Hae-min immediately stole second base. Austin Dean then drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly, and Park Hae-min crossed home plate on Moon Bo-gyeong's infield grounder to put LG ahead 2-0.
In the second inning, Moon Jung-bin launched a home run. Batting as the leadoff hitter, Moon Jung-bin connected on a curveball from Lotte starter Lee Min-seok for a solo home run over the left field fence.
After Park Dong-won's walk and Shin Min-jae's hit created a no-out, first-and-second opportunity, Park Hae-min and Austin delivered back-to-back RBI hits to extend LG's lead to 5-0.
Lotte mounted a counterattack in the top of the third. Following Ko Seung-min's hit, with two outs and a runner on first, Victor Reyes connected on Ham Deok-ju's changeup for a two-run home run that cleared the center fielder.
In the top of the eighth, Lotte clawed back one more run on Hwang Seong-bin's walk and stolen base and Ko Seung-min's RBI hit, but failed to score further.
LG protected its lead to the end, completing the 5-3 victory.
LG captain Park Hae-min added a stolen base in the first inning, achieving the KBO League's first-ever record of 20 stolen bases in 13 consecutive seasons.
On top of that, new foreign pitcher Yacksel Rios's fastball heated up Jamsil Stadium even further.
Rios, who came on in relief in the top of the sixth, threw a first-pitch fastball clocked at 160.8 km/h against Jeon Min-jae with two outs. This surpassed the 160.3 km/h recorded by An Woo-jin (Kiwoom) last April, marking the fastest pitch in the KBO League this season.
Rios, whom LG signed on the 3rd as a replacement for Yoanys Quiala, is a right-handed pitcher who has appeared in 93 Major League games.
However, since the KBO adopted TrackMan as its official pitch-speed measuring device, the top record is still held by Hanwha Eagles' Moon Dong-ju. Moon Dong-ju recorded 161.6 km/h against Samsung in last year's playoffs. He also holds the regular-season record of 161.4 km/h.
