From Debut to Victory: How Samsung’s Young Ace Secured His First Win and Veteran’s 200th Save

The young hurler continued to deliver strong outings and set the stage for the win. Veteran closer Kim Jae-yoon finished it cleanly, preserving the rookie’s first victory while recording his 200th career save.

The Samsung Lions beat the NC Dinos 4-3 in Changwon on May 8, marking their fifth straight win after a victory over the Hanwha Eagles in Daegu on May 3. Starter Jang Chan-hee went six innings and allowed one run, and Kim Jae-yoon locked down the late innings to secure the result for Jang.

This season is Jang’s rookie campaign. The 18-year-old high-school graduate was a third-round pick by Samsung in the 2026 draft. Scouts praised his command, game management and poise, projecting him as a future rotation piece. Despite being a rookie, he made the first team and began the year out of the bullpen.

The club soon moved him into the rotation. With left-hander Lee Seung-hyun struggling, Jang stepped in as the fifth starter. He allowed one run over three innings against the Kiwoom Heroes on April 26 and gave up four runs in four innings in the Hanwha game on May 2. He showed promise, but questions remained about his ability to handle extended innings.

Those concerns were put to rest. Jang delivered an eye-opening outing and set the tone for the win. His command wavered briefly in the first inning — he faced a two-out, runners-on-second-and-third jam — but he escaped without allowing a run. He settled in and finished six strong innings, yielding four hits and one run on 94 pitches to keep the NC lineup at bay.

Veterans eased his workload. Yang Woo-hyun hit a go-ahead solo homer in the second — his first since debuting in 2019. In the fifth, captain Koo Ja-wook added a solo shot to left. With one out and the bases loaded, Jeon Byung-woo followed with an RBI single and Yang delivered a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 4-0.

NC fought back with three late runs — Park Gun-woo’s sacrifice fly in the sixth, then Oh Young-soo’s solo homer and Park Min-woo’s RBI single in the seventh — cutting the deficit to one. Samsung turned to Kim Jae-yoon in the ninth, and he struck out the side to seal the Lions’ fifth straight victory. The save was Kim’s 200th career save, and Jang earned his first win as a starter.