Home Run Leader Kim Do-young Hits 31st Three-Run Shot... KIA Defeats Samsung to Reclaim 4th Place

The KIA Tigers reclaimed fourth place in just one day, propelled by Kim Do-young's home run.

KIA secured a 9-4 victory against the Samsung Lions in an away match of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League held at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu today, unleashing 14 hits including Kim Do-young's three-run homer.

Breaking a two-game losing streak, KIA leapfrogged the Doosan Bears, who lost their game today, to move up one spot to fourth place.

KIA's batting lineup exploded right from the start of the game.

After Park Jae-hyun hit a single to center field in the top of the first inning and successfully stole second base, Park Sang-jun drove in the opening run with an RBI single to center.

With one out and the bases loaded, KIA added three more runs as Kim Ho-ryung, Ha Ju-seok, and Kim Tae-gun hit consecutive singles. After the batting order went through once, with two outs, Park Jae-hyun hit a two-run single to right field, pulling KIA far ahead at 6-0.

Trailing behind, Samsung mounted a counterattack in the bottom of the fifth inning when Jeon Byeong-woo hit a solo home run.

In the bottom of the sixth, Samsung added a run through doubles by Koo Ja-wook and Lewin Díaz, followed by Lee Jae-hyun hitting a two-run homer over the left wall to narrow the gap to 4-6.

However, KIA sealed the game in the top of the eighth inning when Kim Do-young blasted a line-drive three-run homer over the left-field fence.

Recording his 31st home run of the season, Kim Do-young defended his solo lead by pushing past Austin Dean (30 home runs, LG Twins).

KIA starting pitcher Keishou Shirakawa limited Samsung to 3 hits and 1 run while striking out 5 batters through 5 innings, earning his 3rd win (4 losses) of the season.

Samsung starting pitcher Yang Chang-seop allowed 12 hits and 6 runs through 6 innings, suffering his first defeat of the season after previously riding an 8-game winning streak.

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