Kim Do-young Blasts 19th Home Run of Season as 4th-Place KIA Chases 3rd Place by 1 Game

The KIA Tigers, led by Kim Do-young's home run, have accelerated their chase for the top tier.

KIA defeated the Hanwha Eagles 6-4 in an away game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark today (June 9), thanks to a strong pitching performance by starter Hwang Dong-ha and a three-run home run by Kim Do-young.

With their second consecutive win, fourth-place KIA closed the gap to just one game behind the third-place Samsung Lions, who suffered their second straight loss, as KIA aims for the top of the standings.

In the top of the first inning, with two outs, Kim Do-young reached base on an infield hit, and Aderlin Rodriguez drove him in with a double to left-center to score the first run. KIA added two more runs in the second inning by capitalizing on a Hanwha error to lead 3-0.

Hanwha pulled one back in the top of the third inning when Lee Do-yun, who hit a double, scored on a subsequent groundout.

However, KIA pulled away to 6-1 in the top of the fourth inning when Kim Do-young blasted a three-run home run over the left-center wall.

Hanwha chased to 4-6 in the bottom of the eighth inning with a two-run home run by Park Jeong-hyeon and a solo home run by Yonathan Perlaza, but failed to turn the game around.

KIA starter Hwang Dong-ha shut down Hanwha's lineup, allowing only two hits and one run while striking out six over six innings to earn his sixth win (one loss) of the season.

Kim Do-young, who hit his 19th home run, maintained his lead in the home run category, pulling two ahead of Austin Dean (17 home runs, LG Twins).

At Jamsil, the LG Twins crushed the SSG Landers 8-2 to maintain their first-place standing.

SSG scored the first run in the top of the second inning with an RBI hit by Park Seong-han.

LG tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning with one out and bases loaded, as Koo Bon-hyeok's grounder to shortstop was ruled a fielder's choice. LG then added four more runs on back-to-back hits by Shin Min-jae and Park Hae-min, followed by a groundout, to turn the game around at 5-1.

In the fifth inning, LG secured their lead by adding three runs on four hits and two walks to pull ahead 8-1.

SSG only managed to recover one run in the top of the ninth inning with an RBI hit by Ahn Sang-hyun.

LG starter Im Chan-kyu pitched five innings, allowing four hits, four walks, and one run to claim his sixth win (one loss) of the season, while Park Hae-min led the offense, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and one run.

In Suwon, where the second and third-place teams faced off, KT Wiz defeated the Samsung Lions 5-2.

Samsung took an early lead in the top of the first inning with an RBI hit by Koo Ja-wook.

Striking back in the bottom of the third inning, KT tied the game 1-1 on an RBI hit by Kim Hyun-soo, and added two more runs on a bases-loaded walk and a subsequent groundout to lead 3-1.

In the seventh inning, with two outs, Choi Won-jun walked and Kim Hyun-soo doubled to put runners on second and third. Kim Min-hyeok then hit a two-run RBI single to widen the gap to 5-1.

Samsung only managed to claw back one run in the top of the eighth inning with an RBI hit by Choi Hyoung-woo.

KT starter Ko Young-pyo became the winning pitcher, striking out six and allowing four hits and one run through six innings.

The Doosan Bears edged out the Lotte Giants 6-5 in an away game in Busan.

Doosan took a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Daz Cameron and Yang Eui-ji each hit a two-run home run.

Lotte recovered two runs in the bottom of the inning on a double by Ko Seung-min and a sacrifice fly by Son Ho-young, and closed the gap to 3-4 in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run over the left wall by Son Seong-bin.

Under pressure, Doosan added a run in the top of the fifth inning while Lotte committed three errors in a single frame.

With a runner on first and no outs, Kim Min-seok hit a grounder to second base and managed to run all the way home as the Lotte defense made three consecutive throwing errors.

Doosan added another run on a double by Ahn Jae-seok to pull ahead 6-3 as the attack continued.

Lotte also recovered two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning while Doosan committed three errors.

However, ninth-place Lotte failed to turn the game around and suffered their fifth consecutive loss.

Doosan's Yang Eui-ji went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, and starter Gwak Been became the winning pitcher despite allowing three runs on nine hits through six innings.

At Gocheok Sky Dome, the Kiwoom Heroes secured a 7-6 comeback victory over the NC Dinos, sealed by Choi Joo-hwan's walk-off hit.

NC scored first in the top of the first inning on an RBI hit by Lee Woo-sung, but Kiwoom tied it 1-1 in the bottom of the first with a double by Seo Geon-chang and an RBI hit by Keston Hiura.

NC took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth inning on a double by Kwon Hee-dong, before Park Kun-woo hit a two-run double and Lee Woo-sung added an RBI single to right field to make it 5-1.

Kiwoom chased to 4-5 in the bottom of the fifth inning when Hiura blasted a three-run home run over the left wall.

NC's Kim Ju-won hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth, but Kiwoom closed the gap to 5-6 in the bottom of the sixth when Lim Byeong-wuk drew a bases-loaded walk.

After tying the game 6-6 in the bottom of the eighth inning with a double by Choi Joo-hwan, Kiwoom turned the fierce contest around in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and bases loaded, as Choi Joo-hwan hit a walk-off RBI single to center field.

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