Samsung Lions pitcher Won Tae-in (25) showed ace-level pitching, taking full responsibility for the mound until the 8th inning but unfortunately did not become the winning pitcher.

On the 20th, Won Tae-in started the game against the Kiwoom Heroes at the Seoul Gocheok Sky Dome in the 2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League, pitching 8 innings, allowing 5 hits, 3 walks, striking out 6, and giving up 1 run.

In the bottom of the 1st inning, after giving up a hit to lead-off batter Song Seong-mun, Won Tae-in allowed a walk to Lee Joo-hyung, putting him in a no-out, first and second base crisis. However, he induced a 6-4-3 double play from Lee Hyung-jong in a 1 out, first and third situation, escaping the crisis without allowing a run. He handled the 2nd and 3rd innings neatly with three outs.

In the 4th inning with 2 outs, Won Tae-in walked Lee Hyung-jong, allowing a sharp line drive to Lim Byeong-wook. The ball, which appeared to be a one-run triple, was caught by right fielder Kim Heon-gon in a spectacular catch, allowing Won Tae-in to narrowly escape the scoring threat.

Won Tae-in allowed a double to lead-off batter Kim Tae-jin in the 5th inning. Following a sacrifice bunt by Kim Woong-bin, Won Tae-in faced a first and third crisis with one out but managed to get Kim Jae-hyeon on a ground out to third base, allowing a one-run double to Oh Seon-jin and finally permitting the first run. Song Seong-mun was caught on a shortstop foul fly.

Samsung's Lewin Diaz hit a one-run RBI single to quickly tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the 6th. Won Tae-in perfectly shut down the 6th and 7th innings with three outs. In the 8th, he faced lead-off batter Jeon Tae-hyun, striking him out, but allowed a hit to Oh Seon-jin and a double to Song Seong-mun. Lee Joo-hyung was hit by a pitch, putting him in a one out, bases loaded crisis.

In a critical moment, Won Tae-in induced a 6-4-3 double play from Cardinez, swiftly escaping the crisis. In the 9th inning, with Samsung leading 2-1, he handed the mound over to closer Lee Ho-seong. However, Lee Ho-seong allowed a tie, making it 2-2 and costing Won Tae-in the win. Samsung won 6-3 after a tie that went to 11 innings, breaking their three-game losing streak.

Won Tae-in threw 96 pitches, utilizing a fastball (40 pitches), slider (29 pitches), changeup (19 pitches), and curveball (8 pitches). His fastball clocked at a maximum speed of 149 km/h. He recorded a strike rate of 62.5%.

Gu Ja-wook, who contributed to Samsung's victory with 3 hits and 3 RBIs, noted in a post-game interview, "(Won) Tae-in pitched so well, but the batters couldn’t provide run support. I feel sorry as the captain. I believe Tae-in played the role of an ace today, and both (Kim) Ji-chan and (Kim) Young-woong performed well at crucial moments."

"Tae-in doesn't complain to the batters," Gu Ja-wook said. "He always thinks of the team first and pitches for the team. I think fans can feel that too. Even though it must be tough after pitching, I feel he has truly become the team's core, seeing him cheer from the dugout. The younger players can learn a lot from him. I felt that he is truly an amazing player today."

Won Tae-in said, "I got to start today while the team was on a losing streak. The first objective for today’s game was to pitch many innings and to minimize runs to break the losing streak. Although I didn’t secure the win, I am satisfied since I achieved both goals. I feel very good that the team won and we ended the losing streak."

Recently having recorded two consecutive losses, Won Tae-in stated, "In the previous two games, I pitched well in the early stages but fell apart in the middle. Today, I was fortunate that the process of overcoming challenges was better than in the last two games. I was able to prevent runs in the 8th inning with able pitching to overcome all threats."

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