Lee Ho-yeon Smashes Historic Walk-Off Grand Slam with Two Outs in 9th Inning

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KIA Tigers infielder Lee Ho-yeon had a day he will never forget. He became the first player in history to hit a pinch-hit, walk-off grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, leading his team out of a losing skid.

Reporter Jeon Yeongmin has the story.

[Reporter]

The KIA Tigers, who suffered a comeback loss after conceding a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 9th inning against the Kiwoom Heroes in Gocheok on the 23rd, bounced back yesterday (August 25) in their game against the Lotte Giants.

Trailing 5-4 with two outs in the bottom of the 9th, Lee Ho-yeon stepped up as a pinch hitter for Byun Woo-hyuk. He connected on Kim Won-jung's 4th-pitch forkball, launching a dramatic, walk-off grand slam over the right-field wall.

This marks the first time in KBO history that a pinch hitter has hit a walk-off grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the 9th. It is also the first time a team that lost the previous game on a walk-off grand slam bounced right back to win the very next game with a walk-off grand slam of their own.

Propelled by Lee, who recorded the first walk-off and grand slam of his professional career simultaneously, KIA secured a thrilling 8-5 comeback victory and snapped a two-game losing streak.

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LG Twins slugger Austin Dean achieved a milestone by hitting for the cycle, becoming the 4th player in franchise history and the first foreign player to do so.

Austin kicked off his historic night with a lucky double in his second plate appearance in the 4th inning. He followed up with a single to right field in his third plate appearance in the 6th, and in the 8th inning, he launched his 33rd home run of the season—a dramatic, go-ahead 3-run shot over the left-field wall off Son Ju-hwan's 2nd-pitch slider.

Then, in the 10th inning, he drove a deep ball over the center fielder's head and hustled all the way to third base, completing the cycle by securing the toughest leg: the triple.

Capitalizing on the momentum, LG defeated the NC Dinos 5-4 behind Song Chan-ui's game-tying RBI double and Hong Chang-ki's walk-off single, extending their winning streak to two games.

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The Doosan Bears defeated the KT Wiz 3-1 to claim their second straight win, led by catcher Yang Eui-ji, who became only the 3rd catcher in league history to reach the milestone of 300 career home runs.

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The Samsung Lions and the Kiwoom Heroes ended in a 3-3 tie after extra innings, while the SSG Landers defeated the Hanwha Eagles 7-1.

(Video by Park Gi-deok)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.