Ko Young-pyo Shutout Cuts KT’s Magic Number to 4
The KT Wiz beat the Lotte Giants 5-0 at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 3rd for their fifth straight win. Starter Ko Young-pyo threw nine scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out eight. It was his first shutout of the season, the sixth of his career, and his first in 531 days, since April 20, 2025 against Kiwoom. Now 14-7, Ko is tied for the league lead in wins with LG’s Lim Chan-kyu and Doosan’s Choi Min-seok. KT kept its three-game lead over second-place Samsung and trimmed its magic number for the regular-season title to 4.
Source: Ilgan Sports
KIA Squeeze in 9th Hands LG Sixth Straight Loss
The KIA Tigers beat the LG Twins 5-4 at Jamsil on the 3rd to snap a three-game losing streak. KIA scored three runs in the top of the third to take the lead, but LG tied it 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh. The game was decided in the ninth: Kim Do-yeong drew a walk, Na Sung-bum kept the inning alive with a single to left-center after one out, and Kim Sun-bin laid down a squeeze bunt for the winning run. On the mound, Jeon Sang-hyun came on in the eighth and protected the lead. Manager Lee Bum-ho’s gamble paid off as KIA closed in on third-place LG, who have now lost six in a row.
Source: Money Today
Samsung Win Sixth Straight Without Koo Ja-wook
The Samsung Lions beat the Doosan Bears 6-4 at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 3rd for their sixth consecutive win. Lewin Díaz opened the scoring with his 26th home run of the season in the first inning, and Kim Young-woong added a homer in the sixth. League batting leader Koo Ja-wook sat out with a hamstring injury, but with Lee Jae-hyun moving into the No. 3 spot, every player in the starting lineup reached base at least once. After starter Choi Won-tae left after 3⅓ innings, the bullpen, led by Baek Jung-hyun, held the lead, and Baek earned his third win of the season. First-place KT also won, however, so Samsung could not close the gap.
Source: Sports Kyunghyang
Koo Chang-mo Hits Career-High 12 Wins as NC Climb
The NC Dinos routed the SSG Landers 13-1 at Changwon NC Park on the 3rd to end a four-game losing streak. Starter Koo Chang-mo delivered a quality start, allowing one run on four hits and a walk with seven strikeouts over six innings, to earn his 12th win. It is a single-season career high, and having also reached the qualifying innings mark this year, he has proven he can stay healthy. At the plate, Kim Hyung-jun drove in five runs, including a three-run homer, and Kim Hwi-jip hit a two-run shot. In the seventh, pinch hitter Park Si-won launched the first grand slam of his career, the 67th pinch-hit grand slam in KBO history. NC (63-73-2) moved up to sixth place.
Source: OSEN
Ha Young-min Blanks Hanwha, Eagles Locked in 9th
The Kiwoom Heroes beat the Hanwha Eagles 7-2 at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 3rd. Kiwoom scored four runs in the top of the second, helped by Yeom Seung-won’s two-run double and a balk, then pulled ahead 7-0 in the fourth on Choo Jae-hyun’s two-run single and an RBI double by Davidson. Starter Ha Young-min threw six scoreless innings, allowing four hits with no walks and nine strikeouts, to earn his eighth win. Hanwha got two runs back in the eighth, but Jo Young-gun entered with the bases loaded and two outs and threw 1⅓ scoreless innings for the save. Now on a four-game skid, Hanwha (55-80-4), runners-up last season, are locked into ninth place this year.
Source: OSEN
Ko Young-pyo Ready for Bullpen Duty vs. Samsung
Fresh off his shutout, KT’s Ko Young-pyo said he will put the team title ahead of the wins crown. “Because we have a game against Samsung on the 7th, I’ve been thinking I should get ready to pitch out of the bullpen,” Ko said after the game. On a normal rotation, he would start against Samsung in Daegu on the 11th or 12th with a shot at the outright wins title, but if the championship could be decided in the head-to-head game in Suwon on the 7th, he wants to help in that game instead. “The wins title would be nice. It’s a title, after all,” he said, “but right now I have to think about the team rather than myself.” He added that he has not yet discussed it with manager Lee Kang-chul.
Source: MyDaily
Hanwha Release Six Players
Having missed the postseason, the Hanwha Eagles have begun trimming their roster ahead of next season. The club officially announced on the 3rd that it had informed six players that they will not be re-signed: pitchers Kim Seung-il and Yang Seon-ryul, catcher Heo Gwan-hoe, infielders Kim Geon and No Seok-jin, and outfielder Kim Hae-chan. Kim Geon batted .327 in 39 Futures League games this season, while Kim Seung-il pitched in eight Futures League games without a first-team appearance. Yang joined the SK Wyverns (now SSG) as a development player in 2020 and moved to Hanwha last year. With the regular season winding down, Hanwha have started planning for next year with this move.
Source: MyDaily