In the end, sincerity pays off. Samsung Lions foreign hitter Lewin Diaz completely took over the Daegu Samsung Lions Park. Diaz's sincerity ultimately revealed itself through his strength, which is his home runs.

Diaz led his team to a comeback victory of 10-6 against the NC Dinos in a regular season baseball match held on the 25th at Daegu Samsung Lions Park, starting as the fourth designated hitter and hitting three home runs: a two-run home run in the third inning, another two-run home run in the fourth, and a three-run home run in the eighth. It was Diaz's best day, with three home runs and seven RBIs.

Samsung struggled early in the game as starter Kim Dae-ho struggled with control, allowing two runs in the first inning. They fell behind further with two more runs in the second inning, trailing 0-4. The player who fired the signal for the chase was Diaz. In the top of the third, with one out and a one-on-first base opportunity created by Gu Ja-wook's walk, Diaz hit a two-run home run off a 132 km slider from Mok Ji-hoon with a count of two balls and one strike, bringing the score to 2-4.

Then in the top of the fourth, having turned the game around to 5-4, Diaz hit a two-run home run over the left-center field fence on the third pitch—135 km forkball thrown right down the middle—with two outs and runners on second base and one ball and one strike.

Not stopping there, in the bottom of the eighth, faced with a tight score of 7-5, Diaz hit a home run over the right field wall on the second pitch—a 143 km fastball—with one out and runners on first and second base with a count of one strike. He completed his performance with three home runs and seven RBIs.

After the game, Diaz greeted reporters with a bright smile. He noted, "I feel really good about hitting three home runs in one game. I think this is the best game of my career," while adding, "I think I've had a game with three home runs when I played in Triple-A in the U.S., but today's game feels more special."

In the early part of the game, the flow became loose as both teams exchanged walks. For Diaz, who played as a designated hitter, it must have been challenging to maintain his condition in the dugout. He explained, "I stretched out during the innings and kept my sense of timing by hitting balls in the indoor practice area," adding, "Honestly, it's not easy to play as a designated hitter for such a long game. I continuously thought about how to keep my body warm and tried to stay loose in the indoor area right before each bat."

There were also voices of disappointment about Diaz. In early April, his batting average dropped to the low 10s. However, he gradually improved his hitting feel, gaining confidence with words of encouragement. Now, he has returned as the power-hitting first baseman that Samsung wanted, replicating last year's impact with four consecutive multi-hit games and four home runs in two games recently.

He confessed, "Honestly, it was difficult. While I received good advice during that time, I pondered a lot about 'What should I do?' and 'Why am I not getting the results?'."

He recalled the advice of Manager Park Jin-man. He said, "The manager gave me a lot of good advice. He said, 'Not only home runs but getting on base definitely helps the team,' and noted, 'It's fine if I only hit strikes, but right now the problem is that I'm swinging at balls too. So, I decided to just focus on hitting strikes, and that led to good results."

Following the home runs from the previous day, Diaz's total number of home runs quickly increased to nine with three more on the day. He is now tied for the league lead in home runs along with KIA's Patrick Wisdom and Hanwha's Noh Si-hwan. When asked about the possibility of winning the home run title, he smiled broadly, saying, "I just want to play baseball really well. But if the home run king title comes my way, it would feel like a tremendous honor and make me very happy." There are no more worried gazes towards Diaz. Now, with Diaz, Samsung can only soar higher.

[OSEN]