Kim Doyoung Misses Record for Youngest to 40 Home Runs, Leads KIA to 3rd Straight Win with 4 Hits and 3 Runs

KIA Tigers infielder Kim Doyoung narrowly missed setting a new record as the youngest player in professional baseball history to hit 40 home runs in a single season.

Playing as the number three batter and third baseman in a home game against the KT Wiz for the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field today (the 6th), Kim failed to add a home run across his five plate appearances.

Having hit his 39th home run of the season during a game against the Lotte Giants on the 26th of last month, Kim had been on the verge of breaking the record set in 1999 by current Yomiuri Giants hitting coach Lee Seung-yuop, who reached 40 home runs at the youngest-ever age of 22 years, 11 months, and 5 days.

However, having reached 22 years, 11 months, and 4 days of age today without adding a home run, his bid to break the record fell through.

Professional baseball will take a day off tomorrow on the 7th, and action will resume on the 8th, exactly 22 years, 11 months, and 6 days after Kim was born.

Instead of a home run, Kim went 4-for-4 with four valuable singles and a walk via an intentional pass, reaching base 100% of the time and scoring three runs to lead his team to their third consecutive victory.

Kim became the first batter this year to draw 10 intentional walks.

KIA won 8-3, sweeping their three-game weekend home series against second-place KT.

KIA opened the scoring in the first inning by combining a walk by Park Jaehyun, a single to left by Kim Doyoung, and a single to right by Harold Castro.

Tied 1-1 in the third inning, they added two more runs following consecutive singles by Park Jaehyun and Kim Doyoung, an RBI double to left-center by Castro, and a sacrifice fly by Na Sung-bum.

Number four batter Castro put on a massive performance, going 4-for-4 with three doubles and 6 RBIs, including a two-run double to right with two outs and runners on first and second in the sixth inning when they were leading 3-2, and a bases-clearing double to right-center with one out and runners on first and third in the eighth inning while leading 5-3.

KIA starting pitcher James Nail, who held the opponents to 2 runs despite giving up 9 hits over 6 innings, reached the 10-win mark (6 losses) for the first time in two years since 2024, when he recorded 12 wins.

The Samsung Lions defeated the LG Twins 10-4 at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, maintaining their lead at the top with a 1.5-game cushion over KT.

Samsung foreign pitcher Ariel Jurado, returning to the mound after 61 days due to inflammation in his right shoulder, allowed 4 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk over 5-and-two-thirds innings, but picked up his 6th win thanks to run support from his offense.

Jurado quickly surrendered 4 runs in the first inning on 5 hits and a sacrifice fly, but from the second inning until he was pulled, he gave up only one hit and one walk with no further runs.

Meanwhile, the Samsung offense narrowed the gap with two runs in the fourth inning on a center-field single by Lewin Diaz, tied the game 4-4 in the fifth with a single to right by Koo Ja-wook, and then turned the game around 5-4 powered by a double into the left-center gap by Diaz.

In the sixth inning, Park Seung-gyu hit a single to right to extend the lead to 7-4, and in the seventh with one out and runners on second and third, LG relief pitcher Woo Kang-hoon handed over 2 runs solely on two walks and a hit-by-pitch, completely tilting the momentum in Samsung's favor.

The Doosan Bears, pursued closely by NC, cruised past the SSG Landers 16-9 in an away match in Incheon, snapping their five-game losing streak.

The gap between the sixth-place NC, whose seven-game winning streak was halted, and Doosan widened back to 4.5 games.

Doosan, which had been struggling with a stagnant offense, breathed a sigh of relief by hammering out 12 hits, including two home runs.

Yang Seok-hwan, who was recently called up from the second team, delivered 4 RBIs with two hits, including a three-run blast in the fifth inning while leading 3-1.

After extending their lead to 13-1 by adding 7 runs in the sixth inning, Kang Seung-ho, who entered as a pinch hitter for Yang Seok-hwan, drove in another three-run homer in the seventh to seal the victory.

Doosan achieved hits and RBIs from all starting batters for the first time this season.

SSG scored 8 runs in a batting around sequence in the eighth inning, but it had no bearing on the outcome.

The Kiom Heroes defeated NC 4-2 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, propelled by a stellar pitching performance from ace Raul Alcantara.

NC drew first blood in the top of the fourth inning with an RBI single to left by Kim Hwi-jeb with runners on second and third and no outs, followed by an infield single by Lee Woo-sung with two outs and a runner on third to score two runs.

Kiom responded in the bottom of the fourth with leadoff batter Matt Davidson hitting his 18th home run of the season.

Hitting a massive 140-meter home run over the left-field wall, Davidson became the 110th player in KBO League history to reach 100 career home runs.

Trailing 1-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Kiom tied the game with an RBI single to left by Keston Hiura and took the lead via a sacrifice fly by An Chi-hong.

Hiura sealed the win in the eighth with an RBI double.

Alcantara secured his 9th win of the season (8 losses) with 7 innings of work, throwing 99 pitches, allowing 5 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs while striking out 6.

The Hanwha Eagles defeated Lotte 8-2, sweeping the weekend three-game series in Busan.

With starting pitcher Owen White shutting down Lotte with 2 runs over 6 innings, Noh Si-hwan (solo), Moon Hyun-bin (two-run), and Kang Baek-ho (solo) led the charge to victory with home runs.

Number three batter Moon Hyun-bin recorded 3 hits and 2 RBIs, number four batter Kang Baek-ho collected 2 hits and 1 RBI, and number five batter Noh Si-hwan tallied 2 hits and 2 RBIs.

Number six batter Yonathan Perlaza contributed to the win with 4 hits, including two doubles, and scored twice.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.