The Samsung Lions solidified their position at the top of the standings, extending their winning streak to seven games against the Kiwoom Heroes thanks to a game-winning solo home run by Lee Jae-hyeon.

Samsung defeated Kiwoom 8-6 in their 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League away game held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul today (July 21).

After losing all three games in their first series against Kiwoom at Gocheok Dome in April, Samsung went on to win six consecutive games against them in Daegu, and today, they finally secured their first victory at Gocheok Dome this season.

Samsung took control early with a big inning (four or more runs in a single inning) in the first.

With runners on second and third and no outs, Koo Ja-wook hit a center-field RBI single that brought both runners home, followed by a Lewin Diaz RBI double down the right-field line.

With runners still on second and third and no outs, Ryu Ji-hyuk hit an infield grounder to extend the lead to 4-0.

Ryu Ji-hyuk added an RBI triple to right-center in the 5th inning and crossed home plate on a center-field RBI single by Kim Young-woong.

Trailing 0-6, Kiwoom rallied in the bottom of the 5th inning, scoring one run on a solo home run to right field by Kim Woong-bin, and quickly added three more runs through a grounder by Chu Jae-hyun and a two-run homer to left field by Matt Davidson.

Kiwoom tied the game at 6-6 in the 7th inning, capitalizing on a sacrifice fly by Davidson and a fielding error by Samsung third baseman Kim Young-woong. However, they allowed a solo home run to Lee Jae-hyeon at the start of the 8th and gave up an additional run in the 9th, resulting in a narrow defeat.

Kiwoom was left to rue their missed opportunity in the 9th, where they failed to capitalize with runners on first and second and no outs.

Meanwhile, the 3rd-place LG Twins fell into a six-game losing slump after a 5-7 loss to the NC Dinos at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul.

LG took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning, aided by an NC error and a sacrifice fly by Moon Bo-gyeong. However, they surrendered the lead in the 4th, allowing four runs, including a two-run RBI single by Park Kun-woo, while holding a 2-1 advantage.

LG managed to tie the game at 5-5 with a two-run double to center field by Moon Jung-bin in the 5th and a sacrifice fly by Hong Chang-ki in the 6th. However, they suffered a heartbreaking loss in the 7th after Kim Yun-sik gave up a two-run homer to left field to Kim Hwi-jip with two outs.

NC, which snapped a three-game losing streak, moved up to 6th place.

In Gwangju, the KIA Tigers powered by three home runs to defeat the Hanwha Eagles 7-3, extending their winning streak to four games. In Busan, the Lotte Giants secured a come-from-behind 6-2 victory over the SSG Landers, finally reaching the 40-win mark.

The 2nd-place KT Wiz ended in a 2-2 draw against the Doosan Bears.

(Photo: Courtesy of Samsung Lions, Yonhap News)