Kim Do-young Hits 44th Homer... KIA's Magic Number for Semi-Playoff Cut Drops to '1'

The professional baseball team KIA Tigers are on the verge of securing a direct berth to the semi-playoffs.

In a home game against the SSG Landers of the 2026 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at Kia Champions Field, KIA secured an 8-5 victory as Kim Do-young, Harold Castro, and Na Sung-bum combined for four home runs.

With a record of 78 wins, 62 losses, and 2 draws and a winning percentage of 0.557, third-place KIA maintained a 1-game gap over fourth-place LG, reducing their magic number for a direct semi-playoff berth to 1.

With two games remaining, KIA needs just one win or a tie to overtake LG and advance to the semi-playoffs.

Amid a nail-biting race for ranking, KIA seized momentum early with a powerful display of home runs.

KIA opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning with a solo homer by Castro followed by an RBI single from Kim Ho-ryung.

SSG tied the game 2-2 in the top of the third inning when Park Sung-han launched a two-run homer.

However, after the sides changed, KIA recaptured a 4-2 lead when Kim Do-young hit a line-drive two-run home run over the left-center field fence.

Hitting his 44th home run of the season, Kim Do-young extended his lead to two ahead of second-place Sam Hilliard (42 home runs, KT Wiz), solidifying his grip on his first career home run title.

SSG clawed a run back in the top of the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly by Guillermo Heredia.

Yet, KIA quickly widened the gap to 8-3 in the bottom of the fifth as Castro smashed a three-run homer to right field, followed immediately by back-to-back deep shots from Na Sung-bum, effectively securing the win.

SSG managed to recover only two runs in the top of the eighth inning through RBI singles by Moon Sang-jun and Lim Geun-woo.

In Busan, LG defeated the Lotte Giants 4-3 following an extra-inning battle.

Maintaining a 1-game difference with third-place KIA, LG kept its slim hopes alive for a direct semi-playoff berth.

LG took an early lead in the top of the second inning with consecutive doubles by Moon Jeong-bin and Song Chan-eui, but Lotte responded after the side change by leveling the score with doubles from Han Dong-hee and Go Seung-min.


LG pulled ahead 2-1 in the top of the third on an RBI single by Moon Jeong-bin, and extended the lead to 3-1 in the fifth when Moon hit another double hitting the right-field wall.

Facing defeat in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and runners on second and third, Lotte tied the game 3-3 when Na Seung-yeop hit an RBI single to right field.

However, LG seized a chance with runners on first and third after one out in the top of the tenth following consecutive hits by Moon Jeong-bin and Moon Bo-gyeong, before Song Chan-eui delivered an infield single to drive in the winning run.

LG cleanup hitter Moon Jeong-bin led the team's offense by going 5-for-5 with 2 RBIs.

Lotte foreign hitter Victor Reyes went 1-for-5, recording his 205th hit of the season to break the record for the most hits.

Reyes also moved past Choi Won-jun (204 hits, KT Wiz) to stand alone at the top of the most hits category.


In Daejeon, where manager Kim Kyung-moon played his farewell game, the NC Dinos defeated the Hanwha Eagles 9-8.

NC was led by Kim 휘집 (Kim Hwi-jip), who went 3-for-5 with a 3-run home run and 4 RBIs, and Lee Woo-seong, who finished 2-for-3 with a solo homer and 4 RBIs.

Starting pitcher Mike Clevinger allowed 3 runs on 5 hits and 6 walks over 5 and one-third innings, but earned his first win of the season in his final start with the help of run support.

Hanwha clawed back 5 runs in the bottom of the ninth taking advantage of jitters in the NC bullpen while trailing 9-3, but failed to complete a comeback.

Finishing this season in ninth place, Hanwha will see the simultaneous resignation of manager Kim Kyung-moon and general manager Sohn Hyuk.

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