In his first appearance in the KBO since October 8, 2022, Yasiel Puig had an excellent day at the plate, going 2-for-3, scoring two runs, walking one, driving in two, and hitting a home run (at Daegu Samsung Lions Park against Samsung reliever Lee Ho-Sung) in the Heroes 11-7 loss.
With this home run, the former Dodgers, Reds, and Indians player became the first Cuban player to hit a home run on an OpeningDay in the Korean circuit. Cuban-American Ruben Cardenas also got in on the act with a homer, five runs batted in and two runs scored. Cardenas played with Samsung last season, but had his season cut short by injury after seven games.
In another game featuring Cuban slugger Guillermo Heredia’s SSG Landers defeated the Doosan Bears for the second consecutive day at Incheon SSG Landers Field, this time by a score of 5-2. The Matanzas, Cuba native went 1-for-3 with a single and an RBI via a sacrifice fly.
Heredia is playing for the third consecutive year with the Landers after a historic 2024 for Cubans in this league. In 136 games, he finished as the tournament’s batting champion with a .360 batting average and was second in hits with 195. He smashed 53 extra-base hits (31 2B, 1 3B, and 21 HR) and drove in 118 runs, an all-time record for a Cuban in the circuit.