The KT Wiz defeated the defending champion LG Twins 11-7 in the 2026 KBO season opener at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on March 28. Teen rookie Lee Kang-min collected three hits including two RBIs in his debut, while starter Matt Sauer earned the win despite erratic control.
The KT Wiz outlasted the defending champion LG Twins 11-7 in the 2026 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season opener at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on March 28, drawing 23,750 fans. The Wiz pounded out 18 hits with every starter recording at least one, marking only the sixth time a team has achieved that on Opening Day in KBO's 44-year history.
In the top of the first, the Wiz erupted for six runs with two outs against LG starter Yonny Chirinos. After a walk to Ahn Hyun-min, five straight hits followed, capped by 19-year-old rookie Lee Kang-min's two-run double to center that made it 6-0. Lee, the 16th overall pick last year, added singles in the third and seventh for three hits in his debut—the first high school rookie to do so in 30 years.
LG loaded the bases twice off Matt Sauer in the first and third but scored twice in the third on Park Dong-won's RBI single and Moon Sung-ju's sacrifice fly. Park added a solo homer in the fifth. Sam Hilliard went 3-for-4 with three RBIs including a two-run homer in the seventh, while Kim Hyun-soo drove in a run with a single against his former team.
Sauer allowed three runs on five hits and five walks over five innings for the win. "It was a good win for the team. Obviously, I didn't have my best stuff, but we got a W," Sauer said. Lee noted, "I was nervous and excited... but once the game started, I was able to stay locked in."
Kim Hyun-soo, opening his 19th season after signing with KT, said pregame, "Of course, it felt awkward to come here as a visiting player, but I will try to see it as just another game."
Sauer is slated to start KT's home opener Friday against the Samsung Lions.
