Seoul: LG Twins starter Song Seung-ki was so locked in on the mound Wednesday, as he mowed down one NC Dinos hitter after another, that he didn't realize he hadn't given up a hit until after completing the sixth inning.
According to Yonhap News Agency, before the game, Song had made up his mind that he would only focus on retiring one batter at a time and not worry about finer details. That sort of mindfulness helped the 23-year-old southpaw deliver six no-hit frames, as the Twins defeated the Dinos 3-0 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. This victory ended the Twins' first losing streak of the 2025 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season at two games.
The Twins came within three outs of becoming the first team to throw two combined no-hitters in the same season, having done so against the Samsung Lions on April 15. But by the time it dawned on Song that he could be a part of KBO history, his night was already done with a career-high-tying 94 pitches in the books. Knowing he couldn't do anything from the dugout, either to preserve a victory or the no-hitter, Song decided to simply keep his faith in his teammates.
"I trusted our relievers to take care of business, and this was a pretty gratifying game," Song said after picking up his second career victory. "Before the game, I reminded myself that I wasn't going to care about hit totals. I wanted to focus on getting one batter and one inning at a time."
Song issued three walks in his outing and faced some traffic on the base paths in the second, fourth, and sixth innings. Again, it was Song's determination to stay in the moment that helped him get out of those jams. "I knew it was going to be impossible not to have any base runners," he said. "So I put in a lot of practice pitching from the stretch and tried to sharpen my breaking balls. The work paid off big time today."
Song picked up his first career win on April 4 with five innings of two-run ball against the defending champions Kia Tigers. But 13 days later against the Lions, Song was charged with his season-high four earned runs and lasted his season-low 4 2/3 innings. "I was really angry with myself after that game, and I was fired up for this game," Song said. "I made too many mistakes in that game. I am happy to have bounced back in this one."
Though Song tried not to worry about things other than getting hitters out, he admitted he was aware of the Twins' two-game slide. "I wanted to be the one that put an end to that losing streak," Song said. "I wanted to turn things around and build some positive momentum for the team. I think I was able to do that today."
Some opposing managers, including Lee Ho-joon of the Dinos, have heaped praise on Song and said they would rather not face the young lefty. Asked why he is such a tough pitcher for opposing teams, Song sheepishly said, "I think I have great vertical movements with my fastball."
Song also credited his personal catcher, Lee Ju-heon, with helping him achieve early success. Lee is normally a backup to veteran Park Dong-won but has caught each of Song's five starts in 2025. Song was particularly effective with his changeup Wednesday, finishing off four of his career-high seven strikeouts with that pitch, and said it was Lee's call to turn to that pitch in key situations. "He deserves so much credit for what I've been able to accomplish," Song said. "He knows exactly when I am throwing well and when my pitches aren't working the way they're supposed to."