KT Win in 10th, Magic Number Now 7
League leaders KT Wiz came from behind to beat the KIA Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field on the 29th. After falling behind on Kim Do-young’s two-run homer in the first, KT went ahead in the second on a grand slam by Kim Hyun-soo, only to trail 4-5 again after back-to-back homers by Harold Castro and Na Sung-bum in the third. With two outs and the bases loaded in the ninth, Kim Sang-su drew a walk off KIA closer Lee Eui-lee to force in the tying run, and in the 10th Ahn Hyun-min cleared the bases with a two-run triple. Sam Hilliard added a sacrifice fly, and Park Young-hyun, just back from the Asian Games squad, worked 1⅓ innings for his seventh win. At 82-4-49, KT’s magic number to clinch the regular-season title dropped to 7, while fourth-place KIA (72-2-59) stayed two games behind third-place LG.
Source: News1
Samsung Beat Hanwha, Stay 3 Back
Second-place Samsung Lions beat the Hanwha Eagles 10-5 at home in Daegu on the 29th for their third straight win. Kim Sung-yoon had three hits and three RBIs, including the go-ahead two-run homer, and veteran Kang Min-ho also collected three hits, one of them a three-run homer. Samsung’s starting pitcher threw six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts to earn his seventh win (3 losses). At 79-3-52, Samsung kept pace three games behind leaders KT, who won in extra innings the same day, keeping their hopes of overtaking them alive. Hanwha, already eliminated from postseason contention, fell to 55-4-77 in ninth place.
Source: News1
Doosan Beat NC; Yang’s 200th as a Bear
Fifth-place Doosan Bears beat sixth-place NC Dinos 5-2 in their head-to-head clash at Jamsil on the 29th. Trailing 0-2 after NC scored once in each of the first two innings, Doosan turned it around in the bottom of the second with Jung Soo-bin’s game-tying two-run single and a go-ahead RBI hit by Ahn Jae-seok. Yang Eui-ji’s solo homer and an RBI double by Cho Soo-haeng later stretched the lead. The homer was Yang’s 21st of the season, his 200th in a Doosan uniform and the 303rd of his career. Starter Wes Benjamin allowed two runs over five innings for his eighth win. At 68-5-63, Doosan opened a seven-game gap over sixth-place NC (62-2-71), taking another step toward the postseason.
Source: Money Today
SSG’s Avila Matches a 16-Year-Old Feat
SSG Landers foreign pitcher Pedro Avila threw a complete game against the LG Twins at home in Incheon on the 29th, allowing one run over nine innings in a 7-1 win. His only blemish was a solo homer by Park Hae-min in the fourth, and he needed just 104 pitches, mixing a two-seam fastball that touched 158 km/h with a cutter, changeup and curveball. It was his second complete-game win after a shutout against Doosan on the 4th, making him the first pitcher for the franchise, including its SK years, to record two or more complete-game wins in a season since Kim Kwang-hyun in 2010, 16 years ago. “I wanted to keep pitching until I reached my limit,” Avila said. Third-place LG dropped their third straight to fall to 75-1-58.
Source: Sports Kyunghyang
Source: News1
Lotte Beat Kiwoom, Hold 7th
The Lotte Giants beat the Kiwoom Heroes 4-2 at home at Busan’s Sajik Stadium on the 29th. Park Jung-min, Lotte’s second pitcher, threw 1⅓ scoreless innings to earn the win in relief, improving to 9-4 with one save. According to the KBO’s official records, closer Iimura finished the game for the save. The win kept Lotte in seventh place at 60-2-72, while Kiwoom, already assured of finishing last for a fourth straight year, fell to 47-4-87.
Source: News1
Kim Do-young’s 41st Makes Tigers History
KIA Tigers star Kim Do-young, 23, homered in his first plate appearance back in the league after returning with a gold medal from the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Facing KT starter Logan Allen with one out and a runner on first in the bottom of the first at Gwangju on the 29th, Kim drove Allen’s second pitch, a 147 km/h fastball, over the right-center wall for a two-run homer. It was his 41st of the season, breaking the franchise single-season record of 40 set by Tracy Sanders in 1999, when the club was still the Haitai Tigers. Kim now leads the home run race by two over Austin Dean (LG) and Sam Hilliard (KT), who are tied for second with 39 each, setting up a tight finish in the home run title race.
Source: Sports Kyunghyang
AG Gold Opens Overseas Path for Two Stars
Kwak Been, 27, of the Doosan Bears and Kim Joo-won, 24, of the NC Dinos, key members of Korea’s gold-medal baseball team at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, have moved closer to moving abroad thanks to national team reward points. The KBO grants points that count as days on the first-team roster based on national team results: 10 points for taking part in the Asian Games plus 15 for gold, 25 in total. Since both had already received military service exemptions after the 2023 Hangzhou Games, they receive the full points this time. Kwak’s 75 accumulated points fill in the seasons where he fell short, giving him six full seasons, and Kim’s 65 points cover his shortfall from 2021 (92 days). Both can seek a move overseas via the posting system if they complete the 2027 season as full-time players.
Source: Sports Donga