Big hit: 'Fantastical 9th-inning squeeze' — Why didn't LG let it go?… KIA finally closes in on 3rd place by just one game! Fall baseball playoff race now wide open [Jamsil On-Site Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

The KIA Tigers secured a thrilling one-run victory over the LG Twins, successfully taking the lead in the three-game series.

On the 3rd, KIA defeated LG 5-4 in an away game against the LG Twins during the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

With this win, the KIA Tigers, who were alone in fourth place in the league, escaped a three-game losing streak to mark a record of 73 wins, 61 losses, and 2 draws. Meanwhile, the LG Twins, who were alone in third place, fell into a six-game losing streak with a record of 69 wins, 61 losses, and 1 draw. The gap between third-place LG and fourth-place KIA narrowed further from three games to two games.

LG lined up their starting batting order as follows: Park Hae-min (center fielder), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Austin (designated hitter), Moon Jung-bin (first baseman), Moon Bo-kyung (third baseman), Song Chan-ui (left fielder), Lee Jae-won (right fielder), Park Dong-won (catcher), and Gu Bon-hyuk (second baseman). The starting pitcher was Carlos Karasuko.

Before the game, Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop of LG emphasized his resolve regarding the most important aspect of this three-game series: "Everything is important. The pitching matchup, the bullpen battle, and the batting duel are all crucial." He added, "Still, the first priority must be the starting pitcher matchup. Also, the first game will likely be the most important for both teams."

KIA arranged their starting lineup as follows: Park Jae-hyun (left fielder), Kim Do-young (second baseman), Castro (first baseman), Na Seong-beom (designated hitter), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Park Jeong-woo (right fielder), Kim Ho-ryeong (center fielder), Kim Tae-goon (catcher), and Kim Gyu-seong (shortstop). The starting pitcher was James Neal.

Prior to the game, Manager Lee Beom-ho of KIA commented on placing Do-young in the second spot: "We placed him in the second batting order to give him as many at-bats as possible. We have to score runs somehow. Castro and (Na) Seong-beom are also in decent form right now. Since the opposing pitcher is good, we tried to place our most capable hitters up front. It doesn't look like we will score a lot of runs, so I thought the endgame would come down to a bullpen battle. To score at least one more run, we moved players up one spot each."

In the bottom of the second inning, LG's leadoff hitter Moon Jung-bin reached base on a single to center field and advanced to third base on a subsequent hit by Moon Bo-kyung into left-center field. Then, Song Chan-ui hit a sacrifice fly over the foul line in left field to score the first run.

KIA immediately turned the game around in the top of the third inning. With one out, Kim Tae-goon hit a double over the left fielder's head to reach base. Following that, Kim Gyu-seong hit a single to center field, giving KIA runners on first and second with one out. Then, Park Jae-hyun hit an RBI double into right-center field, bringing home runner Kim Tae-goon from third base.

KIA continued their momentum when, in Kim Do-young's at-bat, a wild pitch by LG starter Karasuko allowed runner Kim Gyu-seong on third to score, giving KIA the lead 2-1. Kim Do-young then struck out swinging, but Castro hit an RBI double into right-center field to take a 3-1 lead.

KIA extended their lead by another run in the fourth inning. Leadoff hitter Kim Sun-bin reached base on a single into left-center field and advanced to third base when Park Jeong-woo hit a double down the right-field line. Then, Kim Ho-ryeong hit a sacrifice fly to right field, allowing runner Kim Sun-bin on third to score. The score had already widened to 4-1.

However, LG did not back down easily. They recovered one run in the sixth inning and ultimately tied the game in the seventh. In the bottom of the sixth, LG showed impressive focus with two outs. Austin hit a double down the left-field line. Then, Moon Jung-bin hit an RBI single to left field, bringing home runner Austin from second base. The score became 4-2.

Then, in the bottom of the seventh inning, LG tied the game. Leadoff hitter Lee Jae-won's single to left field and Park Dong-won's walk created a bases-loaded opportunity with runners on first and second. With runner Lee Jae-won on second being replaced by pinch runner Choi Won-young, Gu Bon-hyuk hit a sacrifice bunt to create a one-out, runners-on-second-and-third situation. Here, KIA chose not to remove starter Neal but instead brought in Gwak Do-gyu as the second pitcher. Against Gwak Do-gyu, Park Hae-min hit an RBI single to right field. The score narrowed to 4-3.

The next batter was Oh Ji-hwan. LG threw a gamble by replacing runner Park Dong-won on third with Shin Min-jae. Oh Ji-hwan hit a sacrifice fly toward center field, and as runner Shin Min-jae from third crossed home plate, the game was tied 4-4.

LG seized a prime opportunity in the bottom of the eighth inning. Leadoff hitter Moon Jung-bin selected a walk on the fifth pitch to reach first base. KIA replaced pitcher Jo Sang-woo with Jeon Sang-hyun. Jeon Sang-hyun seemed to catch his breath by getting Moon Bo-kyung to fly out to center field on the eighth pitch.

The next batter was Song Chan-ui. From an unfavorable 0-2 count, he induced a ground ball in front of the shortstop on the third pitch. At that moment, KIA shortstop Kim Gyu-seong committed a critical error by letting the ball slip between his legs. A situation that should have ended with a double play turned into one out with runners on first and third. Pinch hitter Hong Chang-gi successfully reached base on a walk. With the bases loaded, Shin Min-jae came to bat. LG replaced runner Moon Jung-bin on third with pinch runner Cheon Seong-ho. However, after Shin Min-jae struck out swinging, pinch hitter Moon Sung-ju grounded into the third base, failing to capitalize on the golden opportunity for a comeback.

As they say, opportunity comes after crisis. In the top of the ninth inning, KIA scored a precious run to retake the lead. LG had replaced pitcher Ko Woo-seok with Son Ju-young.

Leadoff hitter Kim Do-young reached base on an intentional walk. With one out, Na Seong-beom hit a single into left-center field after a nine-pitch at-bat, extending the opportunity to runners on first and third. Runner Na Seong-beom on first was replaced by pinch runner Kim Min-gyu. Then, Kim Sun-bin attempted a squeeze bunt toward first base. First baseman Lee Young-bin, who caught the bunt, chose to tag first base instead of throwing home, allowing KIA's runner Kim Do-young from third to score. However, since it was already judged that scoring at home would be difficult, and there was a sufficient possibility that the ball could have gone foul if Lee Young-bin had not caught it, it may have been a somewhat regrettable situation for LG.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, LG's leadoff hitter Park Hae-min reached base on a hit by pitch against Jeon Sang-hyun. Then, in Oh Ji-hwan's at-bat, Park Hae-min successfully stole second base. LG continued the opportunity with one out and a runner on third after Oh Ji-hwan succeeded with a sacrifice bunt. However, Austin grounded into the second baseman and Lee Young-bin flew out to the shortstop, respectively, concluding the game with a one-run victory for KIA.

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*This content was translated by AI.