Doosan Sweep NC After a Seesaw Battle
The Doosan Bears beat the NC Dinos 9-7 at home in Jamsil on the 1st to sweep the three-game series. Yang Eui-ji’s two-run homer in the first, his 22nd of the season, put Doosan ahead, but NC scored four in the third to lead 4-2. Doosan answered in the fourth with an RBI single from Park Ji-hoon and a two-run double from Jung Soo-bin to go back up 6-4. NC took a 7-6 lead in the seventh with help from an error, but Kang Seung-ho flipped the game again with a two-run single in the bottom half. After his walk-off hit the day before, it was his second straight game-winning RBI. Yang Seok-hwan added an insurance run in the eighth, and Takada Takuto got the win. Fifth-place Doosan now sit two games behind fourth-place KIA, while NC have lost four straight.
Source: MyDaily
Samsung Win 5th Straight on Two Homers
The Samsung Lions beat the Hanwha Eagles 3-2 at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on the 1st for their fifth straight win. With batting leader Koo Ja-wook out with a hamstring injury, Kim Heon-gon and Lee Jae-hyun filled the gap. Kim, playing left field, tied the game 1-1 with a solo homer in the fifth, and Lee, batting third, hit a go-ahead two-run shot in the seventh. Lee’s 17th homer of the season is a personal single-season high and a club record for most home runs in a season by a Korean shortstop. Both also shone on defense, with Lee’s diving catch in the second and Kim’s sharp play in the fifth backing starter Won Tae-in. Hanwha pulled one run back, but Lee Seung-min got the win and Kim Jae-yoon the save.
Source: Ilgan Sports
SSG Sweep LG for First Time in 1,957 Days
The SSG Landers beat the LG Twins 6-5 at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 1st to sweep the three-game series, their first series sweep of LG in 1,957 days, since May 2021. In his first at-bat in the second inning, Kim Jae-hwan drove a 141 km/h fastball from Lim Chan-gyu over the center-field wall for his 300th career home run, and Cho Hyung-woo went 3-for-3 and reached base four times. SSG built a 6-0 lead, but LG closed to within one run on Lee Jae-won’s three-run homer in the fifth and Oh Ji-hwan’s solo shot in the sixth, among others. Closer Cho Byung-hyun, back from the Asian Games, held the lead. LG starter Lim Chan-gyu allowed four runs in three innings and took his seventh loss, and LG’s five-game losing streak has put their third place at risk.
Source: Money Today
KT Sweep KIA on Kim Hyun-soo’s Late Homer
League leaders KT Wiz beat the KIA Tigers 7-5 at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field on the 1st to take all three games of the Gwangju series. KT scored first on Kim Hyun-soo’s double in the first, but Na Sung-bum’s RBI hit in the bottom half put KIA up 2-1. Ryu Hyun-in tied it with an RBI hit in the third, KT added a run in the fourth, and Sam Hilliard’s 41st homer of the season, a solo shot in the fifth, extended the lead. KIA leveled it at 5-5 on Kim Tae-gun’s three-run homer in the seventh, but Kim Hyun-soo decided it with a two-run blast to right-center in the eighth. KT starter So Hyeong-jun allowed two runs in six innings, while KIA’s Yang Hyeon-jong gave up four in 3⅓ innings. Park Young-hyun closed out the ninth for the save, and KT cut their magic number for the regular-season title to five.
Source: MyDaily
Samsung’s Koo Ja-wook Out for Regular Season
Samsung Lions captain Koo Ja-wook will miss the rest of the regular season with a hamstring injury. Samsung announced on the 1st that a hospital exam showed a 0.5 to 1 cm tear in the tendon of his left hamstring. Koo felt pain in his left thigh while sliding into second base against Hanwha in Daegu on September 30 and was taken out of the game. After injection treatment, he will undergo follow-up tests including an MRI in two weeks before a return timeline is set. Koo was leading the league in batting this season with a .371 average, 15 homers and 102 RBIs in 114 games. With nine regular-season games left, Samsung lose a key bat at a crucial time in their chase of leaders KT.
Source: MyDaily
SSG’s Kim Jae-hwan Becomes 18th to Hit 300
SSG Landers slugger Kim Jae-hwan became the 18th player in KBO history to reach 300 career home runs against LG in Incheon on the 1st. He reached the milestone with a solo shot in the second inning, his 24th of the season. In the same game, reliever Kim Min reached 70 appearances and 20 holds in a season for the third straight year. SSG won 6-5 to sweep the series against LG for the first time in 1,957 days, since May 2021. After the game, manager Lee Sung-yong praised his bullpen, saying Kim Min, Moon Seung-won, Jeon Young-jun and Lee Keon-wook held off LG’s fierce comeback from the middle innings. He added that being able to celebrate Kim Jae-hwan’s 300th homer and Kim Min’s milestone together with a team win made it even more meaningful.
Source: Ilgan Sports
KT’s Park Young-hyun Saves 29th in 3 Days Straight
KT Wiz closer Park Young-hyun pitched in all three games of the Gwangju series against KIA (September 29 to October 1), his first time working three days in a row this season. He threw 20, 11 and 5 pitches in the three games, collecting one win and two saves, and the save on the 1st was his 29th of the season. Park had pitched in the Asian Games final against Japan on September 27 and joined the team right after returning home. He said he had expected to start the ninth inning, but the pitcher before him did well, so he could pitch comfortably. He also explained that, with the team holding first place, he wanted to take responsibility through that day.
Source: Sports Kyunghyang
Doosan’s Kim Taek-yeon Saves First in 162 Days
Doosan Bears pitcher Kim Taek-yeon recorded his first save in 162 days against NC at Jamsil on the 1st. With closer Lee Young-ha having pitched in both previous games, Kim handled the late innings. He came in with two outs and a runner on first in the eighth, got Kim Hwi-jip to ground out to short, then retired the side in order in the ninth to protect a 9-7 win. It was his fourth save of the season, with 1⅓ scoreless innings. Kim explained that he had not had saves for a while because of an injury along the way and, above all, because Lee Young-ha has been doing well as closer. He added that with the sudden drop in temperature, he warmed up longer than usual before entering. The win completed Doosan’s sweep of NC.
Source: MyDaily
KBO Sets Final Makeup Dates; Postseason After 14th
The KBO announced its second batch of makeup games for the 2026 regular season on September 30. It covers 11 games that were rained out and had not yet been rescheduled after the first makeup schedule, and they run through October 12. If more games are rained out, reserve days will be used first, followed by doubleheaders or later scheduling. Allowing for possible rain delays, the postseason is expected to start after October 14. The title race could also go to the wire: first-place KT lead second-place Samsung by three games, and the two meet in their final regular-season series on October 11-12. Depending on the results, a tiebreaker game for first place remains possible.
Source: Star News