KIA Secures Thrilling Comeback Win on Walk-off Error; Kim Do-yeong Hits 26th Homer

The KIA Tigers overcame a four-run deficit to pull off a thrilling comeback victory.

KIA defeated the SSG Landers 8-7 in a home game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on July 2, clinching the win thanks to a walk-off error.

With this third consecutive win, fourth-place KIA narrowed the gap with third-place kt wiz to just one game, following the latter's loss earlier today.

SSG took an early lead, scoring four runs in the top of the third inning, highlighted by a three-run homer from Guillermo Heredia.

KIA managed to get one run back in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Harold Castro, but SSG extended their lead to 5-1 in the top of the fifth when Heredia added another run with an RBI single to right field.

However, KIA began their pursuit as Kim Do-yeong hit a solo home run—his 26th of the season—in the bottom of the fifth, followed by another solo shot from Han Jun-su in the sixth, narrowing the score to 3-5.

In the seventh, Castro added another run with an RBI single to right field, and Park Jae-hyun tied the game at 5-5 with an RBI single to left in the bottom of the eighth.

SSG regained the lead at 7-5 in the top of the ninth after Kim Sung-wook hit a two-run homer to left field.

KIA, however, leveled the score again in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run homer by Na Sung-bum. Han Jun-su then hit a double to center field, putting a runner on second with one out.

In their final scoring opportunity, pinch hitter Park Sang-jun hit a grounder to the infield. The ball slipped through the legs of SSG shortstop Park Seong-han, allowing the winning run to score.

SSG, undone by the walk-off error, has now fallen into a six-game losing streak.

In Jamsil, where the game started 1 hour and 22 minutes late due to a downpour, the Doosan Bears defeated the Lotte Giants 8-3, avenging their loss from the previous day.

Doosan took the lead in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run homer by Kang Seung-ho.

In the ensuing attack, Yang Eui-ji hit a two-run double to extend the lead to 4-0.

In the sixth, with the bases loaded and one out, Kim Min-seok hit a single to center field, driving in two more runs to widen the gap to 6-0.

Lotte narrowed the deficit to 3-6 in the top of the eighth with a three-run homer to center by Victor Reyes.

However, Doosan sealed the victory by adding two more runs in the bottom of the eighth, including an RBI single by Jung Soo-bin.

Doosan starting pitcher Gwak Been earned his 7th win (3 losses) of the season, allowing only two hits and no runs while striking out five over six innings.

In Daejeon, the Hanwha Eagles routed the kt wiz 14-3, racking up 18 hits in total.

Hanwha took control early in the bottom of the second, scoring nine runs as the entire lineup batted, including two-run homers by Roh Si-hwan and Kang Baek-ho.

kt scored one run each in the third and fourth innings, but Hanwha secured the win by adding three more runs in the bottom of the fourth, capitalizing on an error.

Kang Baek-ho, who went 4-for-4 with two RBIs, reached 81 RBIs for the season, surpassing Austin Dean (80 RBIs, LG) to take sole possession of first place.

Hanwha starter Wang Yen-cheng pitched five innings, allowing six hits and two runs to claim his 7th win (3 losses) of the season.

At Gocheok Sky Dome, the LG Twins defeated the Kiwoom Heroes 7-5, becoming the first team to reach 50 wins (30 losses) this season.

Historically, the team to reach 50 wins first in the KBO League has gone on to finish first in the regular season 25 times out of 36 (69.4%), and has won the Korean Series 21 times out of 36 (56.3%).

LG took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first after drawing two walks, followed by an RBI single from Moon Bo-gyeong and a double by Song Chan-ui.

Kiwoom responded in the bottom half of the inning with consecutive doubles from Park Chan-hyuk and Lim Byeong-wuk with two outs and runners on first and second, tying the game at 3-3.

After the teams traded runs twice, LG pulled ahead 6-5 in the top of the sixth with back-to-back doubles by Park Dong-won and Lee Young-bin.

In the top of the ninth, Park Hae-min added an insurance run with a double to right field to secure the win.

Austin Dean, who hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth, reached 27 homers for the season, maintaining his lead as the sole home run leader.

The Samsung Lions defeated the NC Dinos 6-1 in an away game in Changwon, backed by a strong pitching performance from Kim Baek-san.

Samsung took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth with a pinch-hit RBI single by Kim Hyun-jun with two outs and the bases loaded. They extended the lead to 5-0 in the seventh, scoring three runs aided by an opponent error and a solo home run by Koo Ja-wook.

NC scored one run in the bottom of the seventh on a solo homer by Kim Hyung-jun, but Samsung sealed the game in the top of the ninth with a sacrifice fly by Ryu Ji-hyuk.

Kim Baek-san, who joined as a developmental player last year, earned the win in his first-team debut, pitching 5 2/3 innings of scoreless ball, allowing two hits and four walks while striking out three.

Kim is the second developmental player in history to earn a starting win in his debut, following Park Jun-young (Hanwha Eagles) who achieved the feat last May.

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