KIA's Kim Do-young finally unleashed his 15th home run! He now stands alone at the top of the league in home runs... Breaking his silence of 15 at-bats without a hit with a solo shot [Gwangju]

*This content was translated by AI.

Kim Do-young (23) of the KIA Tigers, who had been silent with 15 at-bats without a hit, finally recorded a hit. It was a massive home run that announced he is now the sole leader in the league for home runs.

On the 3rd, Kim Do-young started as the third batter and third baseman in the home game against the Lotte Giants at the Gwangju-Kia Champions Field for the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season. In the bottom of the third inning with two outs, he hit a solo home run to the left-center field gap.

After being retired on a fly ball to second base in his previous at-bat, Kim Do-young connected with Kim Jin-wook's first pitch, a 149 km/h fastball, in the bottom of the third with two outs while KIA was trailing 1-4. He sent the ball far over the left-center field wall. It was his 15th home run of the season, traveling 120 meters.

With this, Kim Do-young reclaimed the top spot in the league home run category, edging out Austin Dean of the LG Twins by one.

The home run was especially welcome as it came after a long silence while the team was trailing. Kim Do-young had recorded consecutive hits in the third and fifth innings against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome on the 28th of last month, but recorded 15 at-bats without a hit up to his first at-bat on this day. As a result, KIA suffered three consecutive losses in a three-game series against LG last weekend, causing their momentum to falter.

However, Kim Do-young showed good hitting the previous day and then made fans smile again with a lightning-fast home run.

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*This content was translated by AI.