KIA manager Lee Bum-ho's decision was right in the end→'2 billion FA super performance + Kim Do-young and home run + baseball to protect.''

*This content was translated by AI.

The KIA Tigers won six consecutive games. It seemed to be pushed to the bottom at the beginning of the season, but it is already looking over the top. Above all, the decision of head coach Lee Bum-ho seems to be shining.

KIA won 7-5 in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season home game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field on the 15th.

With this, KIA tied for fourth place with SSG Landers with eight wins and seven losses. On the other hand, Kiwoom remained at the bottom with 4 wins and 11 losses.

On this day, KIA took the mound with Kim Tae-hyung as the starter. The batting order was composed in the order of Dale (striker), Kim Ho-ryeong (center fielder), Kim Sun-bin (designated hitter), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Na Sung-beom (right fielder), Han Jun-su (catcher), Park Min (second baseman), Kim Kyu-sung (first baseman), and Park Jae-hyun (left fielder).

In response, Jeong Se-young took the start of Kiwoom. Lee Joo-hyung (designated hitter), An Chi-hong (first baseman), Park Chan-hyuk (right fielder), Brooks (left fielder), Park Joo-hong (center fielder), Kim Ji-seok (third baseman), Kim Jae-hyun (catcher), Yeom Seung-won (second baseman), and Park Han-kyul (striker).

Kiwoom succeeded in gaining the upper hand in the top of the first inning when Brooks hit a timely hit in the left-center with one out and third base. KIA then put the game to square one immediately at the bottom of the first inning. After two outs, Kim Sun-bin got on base with a double to the right-center, and subsequent Kim Do-young hit a timely hit to tie the game to the left.

And KIA took the lead by making a big inning in the bottom of the second inning to score a large number of five points. After creating a one-out and second base opportunity with leadoff hitter Han Jun-su's walk and subsequent Park Min's sacrifice bunt, Kim Kyu-sung hit a timely double to fall inside the left-field line, and Park Jae-hyun hit a timely hit in the left-center. After two outs, Kim Ho-ryeong burst a two-run shot to the left to make it 4-1. This wasn't the end. After Kim Do-young went out with a left-handed hit, Na Sung-bum hit a timely double over the right-center field to run 5-1.

However, the Kiwoom was not easy. He trailed by scoring two points in the third inning, one point in the fourth inning, and one point in the fifth inning. In the third inning, Park Joo-hong and Kim Ji-seok hit back-to-back home runs after two outs. In the fourth inning, Lee Joo-hyung drew a solo arch after two outs, and in the fifth inning, Kim Ji-seok scored a sacrifice fly RBI in the center field with no outs. The score was narrowed to 6-5, one point.

But that's all for Kiwoom's chase. KIA bullpen's performance shone. On top of that, in the seventh inning, leadoff hitter Kim Do-young sealed the game by hitting a solo shot to the left against the changed pitcher Park Jin-hyung. It was the moment when Kim Do-young, who hit a grand slam on the 14th, succeeded in hitting a home run in two consecutive games. Kim Do-young, who hit his fifth home run of the season, tied for the lead in the home run category.

KIA's starter Kim Tae-hyung allowed three runs (three earned runs) on six hits and one hit in three innings. He pitched 64 pitches in total. Hwang Dong-ha (two hits, one strikeout and two runs in one inning), Lee Tae-yang (no hit in one inning), Hong Gun-hee (one hit and one strikeout in one inning), Kim Bum-soo (no hit and two strikeouts in one inning), Cho Sang-woo (one hit and two strikeouts in one inning), and Sung Young-tak (one hit and one strikeout in one inning) pitched in succession to secure the team's victory. In the lineup, which hit a total of 12 hits, Kim Ho-ryeong and Kim Do-young swung three hits side by side.

KIA eliminated Jung Hae-young, who was sluggish, from the first-team entry ahead of the match against the Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon on the 11th. In addition, Jeon Sang-hyun, who was also sluggish, was also excluded from the first-team entry when he was diagnosed with intercostal muscle micro-damage. Two must-win teams left the line at once. However, the rest of the bullpen pitchers are filling the gap well. In particular, "2 billion FA" Kim Bum-soo pitched one perfect inning on the same day, continuing his scoreless streak for eight consecutive games. Cho Sang-woo in the eighth inning and Sung Young-tak in the ninth inning, respectively, took the mound and both were on the verge of losing points, but they kept the lead well in the end. As a result, it was right to choose a new bullpen instead of the existing must-win group, which was sluggish.

On the other hand, Kiwoom became a losing pitcher with starter Jeong Se-young marking eight hits, two walks, one strikeout and six runs (six earned) in three innings. The total number of pitches is 76. Oh Seok-joo (two innings of no-hit, one strikeout, no-run), Kim Sung-jin (one hit, one strikeout, one run in one inning), Park Jin-hyung (one hit, two strikeouts, one run in one inning), and Won Jong-hyun (one inning, two hits, no run) pitched in turn. In the Kiwoom lineup with a total of 12 hits, Park Joo-hong made three hits, and Lee Joo-hyung and Brooks made multi-hit games, respectively.

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*This content was translated by AI.