Yang Hyun-jong and Kim Kwang-hyun started in the sixth matchup between KIA and SSG in the '2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League' held on the 21st at Incheon SSG Landers Field. Yang Hyun-jong pitched 6 innings, allowing 4 hits (2 home runs), 1 walk, striking out 6, and giving up 2 runs, while Kim Kwang-hyun pitched 4⅔ innings.

Prior to this game, the left-handed aces Yang Hyun-jong and Kim Kwang-hyun had faced each other 9 times in their careers in the KBO League. They had already clashed once this season on May 11. In the first matchup of the season, Kim Kwang-hyun won after pitching 7 innings, allowing 1 hit (1 home run), 1 walk, striking out 7, and giving up 1 run, while Yang Hyun-jong recorded 5⅓ innings, allowing 3 hits, 2 walks, striking out 5, and giving up 3 runs. However, the result of this game was different.

Kim Kwang-hyun did not start well in the first inning. He walked the first two batters, Lee Chang-jin and Park Chan-ho, creating a no-out 1st and 2nd base situation. However, he struck out Patrick Wisdom and Choi Hyung-woo, and handled Hwang Dae-in with a ground ball to shortstop, ending the inning without giving up any runs.

Yang Hyun-jong neatly wrapped up the bottom of the first inning with a three-up, three-down performance. Kim Kwang-hyun also allowed a walk to Kim Tae-gun with 2 outs in the top of the second inning, but caught Park Min with a pop-up to the second baseman. Yang Hyun-jong issued a walk to Seok Jeong-woo with 1 out in the bottom of the second but had no major problems, getting Choi Ji-hoon out with a fly ball to center and forcing Kim Sung-wook into a ground ball to third to finish the inning.

Kim Kwang-hyun created a three-up, three-down inning at the top of the third. Yang Hyun-jong did issue a walk to Seok Jeong-woo with 1 out in the bottom of the third, but he handled Choi Ji-hoon and Kim Sung-wook, preventing any runs. In the top of the fourth, Kim Kwang-hyun faced a crisis by giving up a double to Choi Won-jun with 2 outs and then a walk to Kim Ho-ryeong, putting runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs. However, he managed to escape the jam by getting Kim Tae-gun to ground out to the third baseman for no runs.

Yang Hyun-jong finished the bottom of the fourth with a three-up, three-down inning. Kim Kwang-hyun began to shake in the top of the fifth. He gave up a hit to leadoff batter Park Min, then caught Lee Chang-jin's ground ball and processed Park Chan-ho as a pop-up to the second baseman, but was met with another hit from Wisdom, bringing a runner to 1st and 2nd with 2 outs. Eventually, he allowed a three-run home run to Choi Hyung-woo. After Choi Hyung-woo's home run, Kim Kwang-hyun allowed consecutive hits to Hwang Dae-in and Choi Won-jun, and gave Kim Ho-ryeong a walk, leading to his substitution for Jeon Young-jun. Jeon Young-jun issued a walk to Kim Tae-gun, increasing the runs charged to Kim Kwang-hyun to 4.

Kim Kwang-hyun could not hold onto the fifth inning and left the mound, while Yang Hyun-jong's scoreless streak also ended. In the bottom of the fifth, he allowed a solo home run to leadoff batter Park Seong-han. After allowing a hit to Lee Ji-young, he faced another no-out situation with a runner on 1st, but struck out Kim Chan-hyung, Seok Jeong-woo, and Choi Ji-hoon, preventing any further runs. In the sixth inning, he allowed another solo home run to Oh Tae-gon, but managed to get Eredia and Han Yu-seom out. Following a single by Go Myeong-jun, he struck out Park Seong-han, overcoming the crisis.

Yang Hyun-jong left the game after handing the mound over to Jeon Sang-hyun in the bottom of the seventh with KIA leading 4-2. However, the trusted KIA bullpen began to waver significantly. In the eighth, with KIA leading 5-2, Jo Sang-woo gave up two walks to Eredia and Han Yu-seom, and allowed Go Myeong-jun a run-scoring double, permitting a rally. In the ninth, closer Jung Hae-young collapsed, allowing a bunt single to Choi Ji-hoon, a hit to Oh Tae-gon, a run-scoring hit to Eredia, and another run-scoring hit to Han Yu-seom, as the game was equalized at 5-5. In a critical moment of potential defeat, Choi Won-jun made a brilliant home run assist, narrowly avoiding a walk-off loss. After that, Seong Yeong-tak, Kim Dae-yu, and Lee Ho-min held off further runs without allowing any through the 11th, but the batters failed to score, resulting in a draw.

The highly anticipated 10th matchup between Yang Hyun-jong and Kim Kwang-hyun saw Yang Hyun-jong display the better pitching performance, securing a decision victory. However, despite Yang Hyun-jong meeting the requirements for his sixth win of the season, the bullpen could not protect the lead, meaning he could not finish the game with a smile.

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