'Lee Ui-ri's walk-off grand slam allowed, shocking blown save' KIA, lost hold on 3rd place it had almost secured! Kiwoom 8-7 dramatic comeback [Gocheokreview]

*This content was translated by AI.

A victory that seemed within reach turned into a nightmare in an instant during the bottom of the ninth inning. The KIA Tigers suffered a painful comeback loss after shocking blown save by closer Lee Ui-ri.

On the 23rd, at Seoul's Gocheok Sky Dome, KIA lost a shocking walk-off comeback defeat to Kiwoom Heroes in the '2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League' away game with a final score of 7-8. Leading 7-2 through eight innings, KIA had the winning series and third-place standing within sight, but the mound collapsed in the bottom of the ninth, allowing six runs and forcing them to their knees. Kiwoom completed a dramatic comeback story in the bottom of the ninth.

On this day, KIA lined up Park Jae-hyun (left fielder), Kim Seon-bin (second baseman), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Castro (first baseman), Na Sung-beom (right fielder), Oh Sun-woo (designated hitter), Ha Joo-seok (shortstop), Kim Tae-gun (catcher), and Kim Ho-ryeong (center fielder), with starting pitcher James Neill taking the mound. Kiwoom countered with Seo Geon-chang (designated hitter), Choo Jae-hyun (left fielder), Davison (first baseman), An Chi-hong (second baseman), Kim Woong-bin (third baseman), Kim Geon-hee (catcher), Park Chan-hyuk (right fielder), Kwon Hyuk-bin (shortstop), and Park Ju-hong (center fielder) in that order, with starting pitcher Jeon Jun-pyo.

Until the middle of the game, KIA was in perfect form. The first run came in the top of the second inning. After Na Sung-beom's fly ball, Oh Sun-woo, Ha Joo-seok, and Kim Tae-gun drew consecutive walks to load the bases with one out. Kim Ho-ryeong then hit a sacrifice fly to center field, making it 1-0. In the top of the third inning, Kim Do-young connected on Jeon Jun-pyo's third pitch—a 149 km/h fastball—launching a solo home run to left-center field (his 38th of the season, traveling 135 meters), extending the lead to 2-0.

Kiwoom tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the third inning with Davison's two-run home run over the right-field fence (traveling 115 meters), but KIA's lineup proved more focused. In the top of the sixth inning, with two outs, Kim Tae-gun hit a double and Kim Ho-ryeong added a single to load the bases. Park Jae-hyun then delivered a three-run triple, driving in two runs to take a 4-2 lead.

In the top of the eighth inning, it seemed like KIA was sealing the victory. With one out and a runner on second base, Kim Tae-gun hit a two-run home run over the left-field fence (his fifth of the season, traveling 120 meters). Following that, with two outs, Park Jae-hyun's double and Kim Seon-bin's RBI single to center field quickly extended the lead to 7-2. On the mound, starting pitcher Neill delivered a quality start with six innings pitched and only two runs allowed. Jeong Sang-hyun, who entered in the seventh inning, recorded his 120th career hold (the 12th all-time), appearing to write a perfect victory formula.

But an unbelievable disaster unfolded in the bottom of the ninth inning. Sung Young-tak, who had entered in the eighth inning, was followed by Lee Tae-yang on the mound in the bottom of the ninth. After one out, Lee allowed consecutive hits to Kwon Hyuk-bin, Seo Geon-chang, and Choo Jae-hyun, loading the bases and creating a crisis.

KIA's bench quickly brought in left-handed reliever Lee Ui-ri. However, Lee Ui-ri immediately gave up a two-run single to the right field off Davison, narrowing the gap to 4-7. With runners still on base, he then allowed a shocking walk-off grand slam home run to Kim Jae-hyun, dropping his head in defeat. Neill's 10th win potential and the team's two home runs were instantly washed away along with Lee Ui-ri's shocking blown save in the bottom of the ninth.

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*This content was translated by AI.