KIA, who previously experienced a walk-off grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning against Kiwoom two days ago, now caused similar heartbreak for Lotte. On the 25th, KIA was down 4-5 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth against Lotte in Gwangju, but they managed an 8-5 victory thanks to a walk-off grand slam by pinch-hitter Lee Ho-yeon. Lee Ho-yeon, who hit a season-high home run, recorded his first career grand slam. Before this game, Lee Ho-yeon wasn’t recognized for his power, maintaining a .200 batting average this season. Since his professional debut in 2020, he had only six career home runs. However, on this day, he demonstrated why he was brought in as a pinch-hitter.
Interestingly, KIA had previously allowed a walk-off grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning against Kiwoom at Gocheok two days earlier. At that moment, Kiwoom’s backup catcher Kim Jae-hyun, who hit the grand slam, had never before recorded a grand slam. Before this game, Kim Jae-hyun’s batting average stood at only .100. Carrying that disappointment, KIA sought revenge against Lotte. Just as KIA’s top closer Lee Ui-ri failed, they forced Lotte’s veteran closer Kim Won-jung to bow.
In Suwon, Doosan’s young star Kim Min-seok took the mound against KT and performed well over six innings, giving up six hits, one walk, five strikeouts, and one run, securing his 12th victory of the season. He is the only leader in wins this season. Kim Min-seok, who made his professional debut last year, throws a two-seam fastball, cutter, slider, forkball, and other breaking pitches. His two-seam fastball can reach nearly 150 km/h. Skillfully using these pitches, in his second year since making his debut, he is a crucial player for Doosan, forming a strong duo with national team ace Kwak Bin.
In this game, with one out and a runner on third in the top of the first inning, he struck out KT’s key hitters Hilliard and Kim Hyun-soo back-to-back. Both crucial pitches were two-seam fastballs. Except for giving up a one-run hit to Kim Hyun-soo in the top of the third, his pitching was perfect. Doosan scored one run each from the top of the fifth to the top of the seventh, winning against KT 3-1. Yang Eui-ji’s solo home run in the top of the sixth turned out to be the game-winning run. Yang Eui-ji became the third catcher in professional baseball history to achieve 300 home runs, following Park Kyung-wan (314, retired) and Kang Min-ho (360, Samsung Lions). With this win, Doosan once again moved closer to fourth-place KIA.
At Munhak Stadium, SSG won against Hanwha with a score of 7-1. Rookie Kim Min-jun, who started the game, limited Hanwha’s offense to four hits, one walk, six strikeouts, and one run over five innings. However, because of a high number of pitches thrown, he was unable to finish six innings and failed to achieve a quality start for the sixth straight game. Samsung and Kiwoom are tied at 3-3 in the 11th inning at Gocheok. NC is leading LG 4-3 in the top of the 10th inning at Jamsil.
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