▲ James Neill pitched six scoreless innings. (Photo: Provided by KIA Tigers, Yonhap News)
The KIA Tigers defeated the LG Twins, keeping alive their chances of advancing directly to the semi-playoffs.
KIA secured a 5-1 victory over LG in their home game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held today at the Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in South Jeolla Province, fueled by a stellar pitching performance from James Neill.
With this win, the fourth-placed KIA improved to 72 wins, 58 losses, and 2 draws with a winning percentage of 0.554, narrowing the gap with the third-placed LG (75 wins, 57 losses, 1 draw, 0.568) to two games.
KIA and LG still have four head-to-head matchups remaining.
In the bottom of the second inning, KIA's Na Sung-bum opened the scoring with a solo home run to right field.
In the third inning, with two outs, Park Jung-woo got a single to center field and stole second base. Han Joon-su then brought him home with an RBI single to right-center, making it 2-0.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, with one out and the bases loaded, KIA added a run due to a wild pitch by LG relief pitcher Go Woo-seok.
After two outs, Kim Ho-ryung hit a center single to bring home two runners, extending the lead to 5-0 and taking control of the game.
In the top of the ninth inning, LG clawed back a run with a bases-loaded walk by Park Dong-won with one out, but failed to produce any subsequent hits.
KIA starting pitcher Neill earned the win, allowing five hits and no runs with six strikeouts through six innings.
LG's Im Chan-gyu, the co-leader in wins, was taken off the mound after giving up four runs on seven hits over 5.1 innings.
In Suwon, where Ko Young-pyo and An Woo-jin faced off as starting pitchers, the last-placed Kiwoom Heroes routed the league-leading KT Wiz 10-1 to snap a six-game losing streak.
Kiwoom took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Park Chan-hyuk hit a sacrifice fly with one out and the bases loaded.
In the third inning, Kim Woong-bin blasted a two-run homer to right field to make it 3-0.
In the seventh inning, foreign hitters Matt Davidson and Keston Hiura hit back-to-back home runs as part of a four-run rally, widening the gap to 7-0.
Kiwoom cemented their victory in the eighth inning when Kim Woong-bin drew a bases-loaded walk and Park Chan-hyuk hit a two-run single.
KT managed only a single run in the bottom of the eighth inning via Sam Hilliard's sacrifice fly.
Hilliard, picking up his 123rd RBI, overtook LG's Austin Dean to claim sole possession of first place in RBIs.
Kiwoom starting pitcher An Woo-jin earned the win, holding KT scoreless on two hits with seven strikeouts through six innings.
Ko Young-pyo struck out nine batters over six innings but allowed three runs on seven hits.
In Changwon, the NC Dinos fended off a pursuit by the Hanwha Eagles to win 3-2.
Claiming their second straight victory, the sixth-placed NC kept their slim hopes alive, while the ninth-placed Hanwha wallowed in the deep mire of an 11-game losing streak.
NC drew first blood in the bottom of the third inning when Shin Jae-in drew a walk, successfully stole second base, and came home on Park Min-woo's single to center field.
In the fourth inning, with one out and the bases loaded, Oh Tae-yang drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 2-0.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Kim Hyung-jun hit a solo home run to left field off Hanwha's Kim Seo-hyun, stretching the lead to 3-0.
Hanwha clawed back two runs in the top of the ninth taking advantage of an error, but failed to complete the comeback.
NC starting pitcher Natsuki Toda allowed three hits and four walks while striking out two over 6.2 scoreless innings.
(Photo: Provided by KIA Tigers, Yonhap News)
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