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KIA Tigers defeated Kiwoom Heroes, surging forward with an unstoppable six-game winning streak.
On the 21st, KIA won decisively by a score of 11-1 in an away game against Kiwoom at Gocheok Sky Dome, located in Guro-gu, Seoul, as part of the '2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League'.
With this victory, KIA extended its winning streak to six games, having started from the match against Doosan on the 15th in Gwangju. Meanwhile, Kiwoom fell into a five-game losing slump.
On this day, KIA set its batting order as follows: Park Jae-hyun (left fielder), Ha Joo-seok (shortstop), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Castro (designated hitter), Na Sung-beom (right fielder), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Oh Seon-woo (first baseman), Han Jun-soo (catcher), and Kim Ho-ryeong (center fielder). The starting pitcher was the 'ace' Yang Hyeon-jong.
In response, Kiwoom lined up its starting lineup as follows: Seo Geon-chang (second baseman), Choo Jae-hyun (center fielder), Davison (first baseman), Park Chan-hyuk (right fielder), Kim Woong-bin (designated hitter), Kim Keun-hee (catcher), Lee Hyung-jong (left fielder), Kwon Hyeok-bin (shortstop), and Yeo Dong-wook (third baseman). The starting pitcher was right-handed Ha Young-min.
KIA took the lead first. In the top of the 2nd inning, Kim Sun-bin and Oh Seon-woo grounded out consecutively, seemingly ending the inning with two outs, but Han Jun-soo drew a walk after an eight-pitch battle to create an opportunity. Next, Kim Ho-ryeong hit a ground ball single to right field, setting up a bases-loaded situation with two outs. Park Jae-hyun then hit a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing Han Jun-soo home from third base.
In the top of the 6th inning, KIA extended its lead and pulled away. Leadoff batter Na Sung-beom connected with Ha Young-min's second pitch (a cutter clocked at 133 km/h) on a 1-0 count, launching a solo home run over the right-field fence for a distance of 110 meters, opening the scoring. This was Na Sung-beom's 24th home run of the season.
Despite the 2-0 deficit, KIA's momentum did not waver. Following an infield single by Kim Sun-bin to shortstop, Oh Seon-woo hit a line drive single to center field, creating a bases-loaded opportunity with no outs. Although Han Jun-soo struck out, Kim Ho-ryeong fouled off four pitches before hitting a sacrifice fly to center field, extending the lead to 3-0.
Kiwoom scored one run in the bottom of the 6th inning to cut the deficit. Leadoff batter Seo Geon-chang drew a walk, and Choo Jae-hyun hit a ground ball single to right field after an eight-pitch battle, creating a bases-loaded opportunity with no outs. Subsequent batter Davison then hit a sacrifice fly to right field, narrowing the gap to two runs.
In the top of the 7th inning, KIA drove in nails to seal the victory. Leadoff batter Kim Do-young opened the scoring with a double to left-center field and advanced to third base on Castro's ground ball. Next, Na Sung-beom hit a sacrifice fly to left field, adding another run easily. Following this, Kim Sun-bin, Oh Seon-woo, and Han Jun-soo drew three consecutive walks to create a bases-loaded situation with two outs. Stepping into the batter's box, Kim Ho-ryeong connected on Park Ji-sung's second pitch after one strike, launching a 125-meter grand slam over the left-center field fence, instantly completing a five-run big inning. This was Kim Ho-ryeong's 13th home run of the season, and the score quickly jumped to 8-1. In the top of the 9th inning, consecutive sacrifice flies by Kim Ho-ryeong and Park Jae-hyun extended the final score to 11-1.
Most notably, 'ace' Yang Hyeon-jong, who started on this day, achieved a major milestone, securing his ninth win (six losses) of the season. Before this game, Yang had pitched 95⅔ innings in the season, leaving only 4⅓ innings to reach the record of 13 consecutive seasons with 100 innings. By getting through five innings and recording one out, Yang Hyeon-jong built a golden monument for '13 consecutive seasons of 100 innings,' tying the all-time KBO League record set by Song Jin-woo (formerly of Hanwha, 1994–2006 seasons). On this day, Yang pitched 5⅓ innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out five batters, giving up only one earned run to lay the foundation for his team's victory.
Lee Tae-yang, who entered the game next, held the opposition scoreless over 1⅔ innings in a multi-inning relief appearance. Kim Tae-hyung, who came on in the bottom of the 8th inning, also did not allow any runs over two innings. In the batting lineup, Park Jae-hyun hit four hits and drove in three runs with powerful hitting. Additionally, Kim Do-young, along with Kim Sun-bin and Kim Ho-ryeong, all achieved multi-hit games. Especially, Kim Ho-ryeong, who recorded three hits, celebrated a decisive victory by recording his second career bases-loaded home run and setting a personal record for most RBIs in a single game with six runs batted in.
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*This content was translated by AI.View Original
