A weekday game, and KIA club makes 'another' new history! 13 consecutive sellouts set a new record... Kim Do-young's 20 home runs were the only bright spot [Gwangju on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

KIA Tigers' Kim Do-young (23) delighted home fans who filled every seat despite the weekday game, thanks to his thrilling 20th home run.

On the 16th, KIA lost 2-8 to LG Twins in a regular-season home game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League.

With this loss, KIA fell to two consecutive defeats, sitting at 34 wins, 1 draw, and 32 losses in fourth place. LG, on a three-game winning streak, improved to 42 wins and 24 losses, maintaining a two-game gap behind second-place KT Wiz.

On this day, 7,300 students and staff from the education office visited the home stadium for an Education Office Day event, yet KIA sold out all 20,500 seats immediately at the 6th:30 p.m. game start. This marked the 23rd sellout of the season and a new club record of 13 consecutive sellouts, creating new history for the team.

However, the team could not deliver a satisfying performance before the packed crowd. Starting pitcher Keisho Shirakawa held strong for six innings, allowing seven hits (two home runs), one walk, striking out four, and giving up five earned runs. The offense, with only four total hits, failed to provide sufficient support.

Superstar Kim Do-young provided some consolation. Starting at third and batting third, Kim recorded one hit in three at-bats, including one home run, one RBI, and one run scored.

Kim grounded out to third base in his first two at-bats. However, in the bottom of the 6th with no runners on base and a runner on first, he crushed Lachlan Wells' high fastball, sending a solo home run to left field. The 130-meter flight marked his 20th home run of the season.

This was a major home run that tied Austin Dean (33), who had hit a solo home run to left field earlier in the top of the 1st inning. With this home run, Kim Do-young joined Austin in sharing the league lead.

KIA plans to turn the tide on the 17th by starting ace Adam Oller. The opposing starting pitcher will be right-hander Jang Hyun-sik (31), a former KIA player making his first start since October 27, 2020, in a match against KT Wiz in Gwangju — a span of 2,059 days.

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*This content was translated by AI.