KIA Tigers' Kim Do-young hits youngest and longest bases-loaded home run in history → 3 home runs in the Preliminary Playoffs! 'Donisal' rewrites KIA history, advances to first-ever Preliminary Playoff with a three-game sweep... Defeats LG Twins to head to Daegu [Preliminary Playoffs Game 3 On-Site Review]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The KIA Tigers extended their winning streak against the LG Twins, which began in the late regular season, to 10 games (7 consecutive wins in the regular season + 3 wins in the postseason), finally breaking their long-standing Preliminary Playoffs (준PO) curse. At the center of this was Kim Do-young (23), known as 'Donisal' (a play on his name meaning "Do-young, we are alive because of you").

KIA defeated LG 13-1 in Game 3 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO Postseason Preliminary Playoffs (best-of-five series) held at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 20th.

With this, following their 5-1 win in Game 1 in Gwangju on the 17th and a 6-3 victory in Game 2 on the 18th, KIA took Game 3 as well, securing a spot in the Playoffs (PO) with a series record of three wins and no losses. This is the first time KIA has advanced past the Preliminary Playoffs, including their predecessor team, the Haitai Tigers. Previously, they had participated in the Preliminary Playoffs four times—in 1994, 2004, 2006, and 2011—but were eliminated each time. Now, KIA will face the Samsung Lions, who finished second in the regular season, in a best-of-five Playoff series starting on the 25th.

With a sold-out crowd of 23,650 attending the final game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium, the KBO League achieved its 41st consecutive sellout in postseason (PS) games. This record has continued since Game 1 of the 2023 Korea Series (KS); limited to just the Preliminary Playoffs, it was a 12-game consecutive sellout streak starting from Game 1 in 2024. In front of the sold-out crowd, home team LG ended their autumn baseball campaign with three consecutive losses in the Preliminary Playoffs.

The star who decided the game today was undoubtedly Kim Do-young. With KIA leading 3-0 and one out and the bases loaded, Kim Do-young stepped up to the plate to face John Kennedy. He crushed a 144.4 km/h fastball pitched low on his body side, hitting a massive bases-loaded home run that traveled 145.8 meters.

The home run gave KIA a 7-0 lead while completely seizing the momentum and control of the game. Kim Do-young's 145.8-meter home run is the longest in Preliminary Playoff history based on KBO official scorer measurements since 2000, breaking the previous record of 135 meters hit by Park Byung-ho (then with Kiwoom) in Game 4 of the 2019 Jamsil Preliminary Playoffs on October 10, 2019. In postseason history, it tied the record set by Tyrone Woods (then with Doosan) on October 28, 2001, in Game 6 of the Korea Series at Jamsil, which was 145 meters.

Kim Do-young led the victory with one hit in three at-bats (including a bases-loaded home run), four runs batted in, one walk, and one run scored. In the three Preliminary Playoff games, including two home runs in Game 1, Kim Do-young batted .333 (three hits in nine at-bats) with three home runs, eight runs batted in, and four runs scored. He was selected as the Series MVP, receiving 84 votes out of 97 from reporters (an 86.6% vote share). Kim Do-young will receive a prize of 20 thousand won and a trophy.

Captain Na Seong-beom contributed two hits in four at-bats (including two home runs), two runs batted in, and two runs scored, including the go-ahead winning home run. Kim Gyu-seong had two hits in five at-bats, while Park Jeong-woo had two hits in five at-bats, two runs batted in, one walk, and one run scored, helping secure the team's victory. Additionally, KIA hit 16 total hits (long and short), achieving their seventh all-starters-hit game in Preliminary Playoffs history (19th in postseason history), their fourth all-starters-scored game in Preliminary Playoffs (8th in postseason history), and their second all-starters-hit-and-scored game in Preliminary Playoffs (4th in postseason history). This contrasted sharply with LG, who struggled offensively with only eight total hits.

An unexpected result emerged in the starting pitcher matchup as well. KIA's Keisuke Shirakawa (25), who was expected to be at a disadvantage, completely shook off his nightmare of being weak against LG in the regular season with an ERA of 7.71. Shirakawa earned his first win in KBO postseason play by pitching five innings, allowing four hits, no walks or hit batters, striking out nine, and giving up one run. He was awarded the Daily MVP and received a prize of 1 million won.

LG starter Carlos Karasco took the loss in his first KBO autumn baseball game, pitching 1⅓ innings, allowing three hits (one home run), two walks, and five runs (four earned). John Kennedy, who entered next, also collapsed, pitching 1⅔ innings, allowing three hits (one home run), one hit batter, striking out four, and giving up two runs, preventing LG from regaining momentum.

Today, KIA's batting order was Park Jeong-woo (center fielder) - Park Jae-hyun (left fielder) - Kim Do-young (third baseman) - Harold Castro (first baseman) - Na Seong-beom (right fielder) - Kim Sun-bin (designated hitter) - Han Jun-su (catcher) - Kim Gyu-seong (second baseman) - Ha Ju-seok (shortstop). The starting pitcher was Keisuke Shirakawa.

In response, LG's batting order was Park Hae-min (center fielder) - Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop) - Austin Dean (designated hitter) - Song Chan-ui (left fielder) - Moon Bo-kyung (third baseman) - Moon Jung-bin (first baseman) - Moon Sung-ju (right fielder) - Park Dong-won (catcher) - Gu Bon-hyeok (second baseman). The starting pitcher was Carlos Karasco.

The home run cannon fired from the start. In the top of the second inning, leadoff batter Na Seong-beom crushed a 147.9 km/h fastball pitched to the middle of the plate by Karasco, sending it deep over the center field fence. It was a go-ahead solo home run that traveled 131.8 meters.

An error led to a large number of runs allowed. Han Jun-su's strong grounder was not caught cleanly on the first bounce by first baseman Moon Jung-bin, allowing him to reach base. Kim Gyu-seong lifted Karasco's forkball for a single down the middle, and Ha Ju-seok walked with a straight walk, filling all the bases. Park Jeong-woo also hit a left-field RBI single, prompting LG to replace Karasco with John Kennedy on the mound.

Kennedy could not stop the crisis either. Park Jae-hyun reached base on a left-field RBI single, and Kim Do-young crushed a 144 km/h fastball, sending it deep over the left-center field fence. The ball had an exit velocity of 179.3 km/h and a launch angle of 27.4 degrees, resulting in a massive bases-loaded home run that traveled 145.8 meters. KIA led 7-0.

In the fifth inning, with two outs and a runner on first base, Ha Ju-seok hit a single to left-center field, and Park Jeong-woo hit a single off the first baseman that rolled back in front of the right fielder, adding one more run. KIA continued to widen the lead with home runs. In the sixth inning, Na Seong-beom hit a solo home run over the right-field fence, and in the seventh inning, Han Jun-su hit a one-run home run over left-center field, establishing a 10-0 lead for KIA.

KIA's Shirakawa found stability thanks to solid run support. He struck out Song Chan-ui and Moon Sung-ju on swings in the second inning, and retired the strong lineup of Park Dong-won, Gu Bon-hyeok, and Park Hae-min in order with 12 pitches in the third inning. In the fourth inning, Oh Ji-hwan and Song Chan-ui also struck out on swings, ending the frame with three consecutive strikeouts. The only LG hits through the fifth inning were Moon Jung-bin's double to left-center field in the second inning and Moon Bo-kyung's single to right field in the fifth.

Shirakawa was finally shaken in the sixth inning when he allowed a single to right field by Gu Bon-hyeok and a line-drive double down the left-field line by Park Hae-min. However, relief pitcher Jung Hae-young minimized the damage to one run by striking out Oh Ji-hwan on a swing, getting Austin Dean to ground out to second base, and recording a flyout to center field from Song Chan-ui.

For LG, it was regrettable that they missed a chance in the bottom of the seventh inning. Leadoff batter Moon Bo-kyung drew a walk against relief pitcher Lee Tae-yang. Moon Jung-bin hit a line drive to center field, and pinch hitter Hong Chang-gi struck out on three pitches. However, Park Dong-won and Gu Bon-hyeok hit consecutive singles to fill all the bases. Next up was Park Hae-min, who had multiple hits that day. Facing relief pitcher Lee Eui-ri in an unfavorable 0 balls, 2 strikes count, Park Hae-min fouled off four pitches before grounding out to first base on the ninth pitch.

Instead, KIA drove in three runs in the eighth inning to nail down the victory. With one out against Park Si-won, Castro hit a line-drive double down the right-field line, Na Seong-beom walked, and Kim Sun-bin hit a single to left field, loading the bases. Han Jun-su drew an intentional walk with the bases loaded to extend the lead by one run, and Park Min hit a two-RBI double down the left-field line to bring in Park Si-won.

Hwang Dong-ha took the mound in the ninth inning and retired the side without allowing any runs, securing KIA's first-ever Preliminary Playoff series victory in franchise history.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original