'Na Sung-beom, 18-year-old Super Rookie, Tears Up' KIA Sweeps Kiwoom in 7 Games, Averaging 1.7 Runs; Kiwoom on 7-Game Losing Streak [Gocheok Field]

*This content was translated by AI.

'KIA Tigers' Na Sung-beom (37) suffered his first career home run allowed to an 18-year-old 'Super Rookie'.

'Na Sung-beom hit a go-ahead, two-run home run against Kiwoom Heroes' starting pitcher Park Jun-hyun (19) in the bottom of the third inning at Seoul Gocheok Sky Dome on the 23rd. Park Jun-hyun, selected first overall in the 2026 draft, allowed his first home run in just nine professional games.

'KIA secured a 7-3 victory thanks to home runs from Na Sung-beom, Byun Woo-hyuk, and Castro, along with strong pitching from starter Oller. The team swept all seven games against Kiwoom this season. Meanwhile, Kiwoom has fallen into a seven-game losing streak.

'In the bottom of the third inning with the score tied 0-0 and two outs, Kim Do-young reached base with a single to left field. Na Sung-beom then connected with Park Jun-hyun's 153 km/h fastball, sending the ball over the right-field fence. It was his 14th home run of the season, traveling 140 meters.

'In the top of the sixth inning, Byun Woo-hyuk hit a solo home run (his third of the season) off reliever Jo Young-geon to left field, adding another run. Byun, who also hit a home run in the match against Suwon KT Wiz on the 21st, recorded back-to-back home runs for the first time in 1,099 days since June 2023.

'KIA escaped a 3-1 deficit in the top of the seventh inning with no outs and bases loaded, thanks to Castro's two-run double. Castro then added a two-run home run (his fourth of the season) off Kim Yun-ha in the top of the ninth inning to seal the victory.

'Oller pitched six innings, allowing four hits, striking out six, and giving up one run. His eighth win (five losses) tied him with Ryu Hyun-jin of the Hanwha Eagles for the league lead in wins. He also leads the league in strikeouts (98) and innings pitched (93⅓).

'Park Jun-hyun threw a powerful fastball reaching up to 157 km/h, pitching five innings (102 pitches), allowing three hits (one home run), two runs, five walks, and striking out five. However, lacking offensive support, he suffered his third loss (one win) of the season. After securing a win in his professional debut against Samsung Lions on April 26, he failed to add another win in eight consecutive games.

'Kiwoom's offense managed three runs: a double by Kim Woong-bin in the bottom of the sixth, a solo home run by Im Byung-wook in the bottom of the seventh, and a single to left field by Seo Geon-chang in the bottom of the ninth. Since the match against Samsung on the 16th, Kiwoom has scored only 12 runs in seven games, averaging 1.7 runs per game.

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*This content was translated by AI.