Jang Jun-won Hits Back-to-Back 3-Run and 2-Run Homers as KT Defeats Doosan to Solidify 1st Place

The KT Wiz defeated the Doosan Bears for the second consecutive day, continuing their march at the top of the standings.

KT secured a 9-8 victory over Doosan in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League match held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on September 20, propelled by solid pitching from Ko Young-pyo and back-to-back home runs by Jang Jun-won.

Grabbing consecutive one-run victories over two days, KT pulled 3.5 games ahead of the second-place Samsung Lions, who lost today, moving a step closer to direct advancement to the Korean Series.

KT took the opening lead in the bottom of the first inning with Sam Hilliard's sacrifice fly.

In the second inning, they added four runs, highlighted by Jang Jun-won's 3-run home run, to pull ahead 5-0.

Jang launched a 2-run arch in the bottom of the third inning as well for back-to-back home runs, widening the gap to 7-0.

For Jang, who had nine career home runs through yesterday, this is the second time he has hit back-to-back long balls since making his professional debut in 2015.

KT built a 9-0 lead through the sixth inning, aided by a solo home run from Han Seung-taek in the bottom of the fifth.

Doosan broke their silence in the top of the seventh inning when Yang Suk-hwan hit a solo home run.

In the top of the eighth, Junior Severino hit a 3-run homer followed by back-to-back home runs from Park Ji-hoon to score seven runs and pull within 8-9, but they ultimately failed to complete the comeback.

KT starting pitcher Ko Young-pyo allowed just 1 run on 3 hits with 4 strikeouts over 7 innings to pick up his 13th win (6 losses) of the season.

Kim Jung-woon protected the one-run lead over 1 and 1/3 innings with 4 strikeouts, claiming his first career save.

In Changwon, the KIA Tigers pulled off an exciting come-from-behind victory, beating the NC Dinos 8-6.

In a starting pitching matchup between Japanese pitchers Natsuki Toda and Keisho Shirakawa, KIA drew first blood in the top of the fifth inning with Han Jun-su's double and Harold Castro's RBI single.

Mounting a counterattack, NC tied the game in the bottom of the sixth with Park Kun-woo's 2-run home run, then took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh on RBI singles by Blaine Crim and Park Kun-woo.

However, with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the eighth, KIA's Park Jung-woo hammered a bases-clearing triple to reclaim a 5-4 lead.

KIA added three more runs in the ensuing attack on Castro's RBI single and Na Sung-bum's double to stretch their lead to 8-4.

NC clawed back two runs in the bottom of the ninth on Lee Woo-sung's double, but could get no closer.

Stuck in a 7-game losing streak, the sixth-place NC Dinos failed to narrow their 5.5-game deficit behind the fifth-place Doosan Bears.

With 16 regular-season games remaining, NC's chances of making the autumn postseason are gradually fading.

The Lotte Giants displayed fierce concentration in their home game in Busan, defeating the Samsung Lions 13-6.

Samsung scored two runs in the top of the first with the bases loaded and no outs on Lewin Diaz's sacrifice fly and Choo Hyung-woo's RBI single.

Lotte recovered one run in the bottom of the first on Han Dong-hee's single to left field.

After adding a run in the top of the third, Samsung pushed their lead to 4-1 in the top of the fourth when Kim Do-hwan blasted a solo home run over the center field wall.

However, Lotte's batting lineup exploded in the bottom of the fourth, erupting for a massive 10 runs.

With one out and the bases loaded, Hwang Sung-bin hit an infield single, Na Seung-yup singled to right, and Victor Reyes drove in two runs with a single to turn the game around at 5-4.

With the bases still loaded, Ko Seung-min drove in two more runs with a double to left-center, knocking Samsung starter Won Tae-in out of the game.

Not letting up, Lotte added four more runs to instantly pull away 11-4 and effectively decide the outcome.

Won Tae-in was chased from the mound after yielding 9 runs—his lowest of the season—over 3 and 1/3 innings.

This marked Won's most runs allowed in a game since giving up 10 runs over 2 and 1/3 innings against the Doosan Bears on August 22, 2019.

In Jamsil, the LG Twins edged the Hanwha Eagles 4-3 to extend their winning streak to seven games.

LG drew first blood in the bottom of the fourth when Oh Ji-hwan walked with one out, followed by Lee Jae-won launching a 2-run home run to left into the upper outfield stands.

Held hitless through four innings, Hanwha tied the game 2-2 in the top of the fifth with one out and the bases loaded on Choi In-ho's RBI single and Park Jung-hyun's sacrifice fly.

Han Ji-yoon then singled to right field to turn the score around 3-2.

However, LG reclaimed a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth after Park Hae-min doubled and Austin Dean and Moon Jung-bin delivered RBI singles.

Having overturned the score, LG preserved the victory with scoreless relief from Kim Kang-ryul (1 inning), John Kennedy (2 innings), and Son Ju-young (1 inning) following starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco.

Son Ju-young picked up his 30th save (1 win) of the season.

The ninth-place Hanwha Eagles fell into a 7-game losing streak.

In Incheon, the SSG Landers earned a come-from-behind 10-5 victory over the Kiwoom Heroes to extend their winning streak to four games.

Kiwoom's Matt Davidson opened the scoring with a solo home run in the top of the first.

After Kim Dong-heon hit a solo homer in the second, Kiwoom added two more runs in the top of the third on Park Chan-hyuk's double and Yeo Dong-wook's RBI single to pull ahead 4-0.

SSG responded in the bottom of the third when Choi Ji-hoon smacked a 3-run homer over the right field wall to close the gap to 3-4.

Scoring three runs on four consecutive hits in the fifth to flip the momentum, SSG broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth when Oh Tae-gon drove in two runs with a single and Choi Ji-hoon added an RBI double, stretching the lead to 9-4.

Choi Ji-hoon collected 5 RBIs, including a home run, out of 3 hits.

The last-place Kiwoom Heroes sunk into a 5-game losing streak.

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