The NC Dinos snapped their four-game losing streak, powered by a strong performance from Natsuki Toda, who has emerged as a "nemesis" for the Lotte Giants, and hits from every starting player.

NC defeated Lotte 8-2 in their 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League away game at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on Thursday, halting Lotte's bid for an eight-game winning streak.

Toda pitched a gem, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out eight over seven innings to earn his fourth win (against five losses) of the season.

Three of his four wins this season have come against Lotte.

NC took the lead in the first inning with two outs and bases loaded—set up by two walks and an infield hit—when Matt Davidson hit a two-run single to center field.

They then sealed the game in the third inning, adding six runs on six hits, a walk, and a sacrifice fly.

Lee Woo-sung, Kwon Hee-dong, and Davidson each drove in two runs.

The Samsung Lions also broke out of their recent offensive slump, racking up 18 hits in a resounding 13-6 victory over the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul.

LG's winning streak was snapped at five.

The game was decided early on.

Facing LG starter Lee Jung-yong, Samsung scored the opening run with three consecutive hits to start the first inning, before Lewin Diaz hit a line-drive, three-run home run over the right field wall to quickly make it 4-0.

In the second inning, they solidified their lead by adding four more runs through RBI hits by Choi Hyoung-woo and Kang Min-ho, along with a bases-loaded walk.

When LG chased with three runs in the eighth to close the gap to 11-6, Samsung put the game away in the top of the ninth with a two-run triple by Ryu Ji-hyuk.

Diaz recorded three hits and five RBIs, Ryu drove in three runs, while Choi and Kang contributed two RBIs each.

Samsung's starting catcher Kang Min-ho, who made his professional debut in 2004, drew attention by playing first base for the first time in his career during the bottom of the eighth inning.

The kt wiz defeated the SSG Landers 12-7 at their home stadium in Suwon after a slugfest that saw the two teams combine for 31 hits.

Trailing 7-5, SSG tied the game at 7-7 in the eighth inning with runners on first and third and no outs, thanks to a sacrifice fly by Jeong Jun-jae and an RBI double down the right-field line by Park Seong-han.

However, KT broke the deadlock in the bottom of the eighth against reliever Noh Kyung-eun. With runners on first and second and one out, Sam Hilliard hit a two-run double to left-center. KT then added three more runs through Heo Kyoung-min's two-run double to right-center and an SSG error to pull far ahead.

Park Yeong-hyun, who came on in relief in the eighth, blew the save opportunity after giving up an RBI hit to Park Seong-han, but earned the win thanks to the run support from his offense.

Hilliard had a stellar game, driving in six runs, including a three-run home run in the fourth inning, while Heo contributed three RBIs.

The visiting KIA Tigers defeated the Kiwoom Heroes 9-4 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, maintaining a perfect 9-0 record against Kiwoom this year and extending their winning streak to four games.

KIA's star slugger Kim Do-young hit a two-run home run over the right field wall in the third inning with a 1-0 lead, and added another two-run shot over the left field wall in the seventh with a 6-0 lead. This brought his season total to 22 home runs, tying him with Austin Dean (LG) for the league lead.

Na Sung-bum in the third inning and Harold Castro in the sixth each added solo home runs to help secure the victory.

KIA starter James Naile delivered a flawless performance, striking out eight and allowing just two hits over seven scoreless innings to claim his fifth win (against four losses) of the season.

The last-place Heroes, mired in a nine-game losing streak, are now just one loss away from becoming the first team to reach 50 losses this season.

In Daejeon, the Doosan Bears defeated the Hanwha Eagles 5-3, capitalizing on an automatic ejection for a headshot pitch.

The scoreless deadlock was broken by a single pitch from Hanwha starter Park Jun-young.

On the first pitch of the top of the fourth inning with a runner on first and no outs, Doosan's Yang Eui-ji was hit in the face by Park's pitch and collapsed.

Park, who hit the batter's head with a fastball, was automatically ejected under the league's headshot rule.

This marks the eighth headshot ejection in the KBO League this year.

With runners on first and second and no outs, Jung Woo-joo hastily took the mound in relief, but was hit hard as Kim Min-seok hit a triple down the right-field line and Oh Myung-jin followed with an RBI single to center.

Two of the three runs conceded by Hanwha in the inning were charged to Park as earned runs.

Trailing 4-0, Hanwha attempted a comeback in the sixth inning with a solo home run over the center field wall by Noh Si-hwan, but Doosan's Park Jun-soon responded with a solo shot over the left field wall in the top of the seventh.

Hanwha could only manage to claw back two more runs in the eighth with a two-run home run over the left field wall by Kang Baek-ho.

Doosan's Wes Benjamin earned the win after a strong outing, allowing one run over 5 2/3 innings.

(Photo: Yonhap News)