KIA starter Nail gets sent off for headshot... 57 pitches, no runs, perfect pitches, ‘unexpected variable’

KIA Tigers' ace James Nail was sent off for throwing a headshot while pitching to perfection.

Nail threw the ball with his head while facing Samsung Park Seung-gyu with one out in the bottom of the 5th inning, leading 5-0 in the first game of the 2026 professional baseball playoffs (PO, 3 wins in 5 games) against the Samsung Lions at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on the 26th.

He threw a two-seam fastball on the 6th pitch at full count, and this ball hit Seung-gyu Park directly in the head.

His helmet came off, but fortunately Park Seung-gyu walked to first base without injury.

The referee ordered Nail to leave according to the headshot rule.

According to the KBO League game speedup regulations, a pitcher who throws a fastball at the batter's head and hits it is automatically ejected, regardless of whether it was intentional or not.

This is a regulation established by the Korea Baseball Organization in 2014 to protect batters.

In an unexpected situation, the KIA bench moved urgently and immediately put in Jeong Hae-young.

Nail pitched perfectly on this day, allowing 1 hit, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, and no runs over 4⅓ innings. The number of pitches was only 57.

Considering the number of pitches and the content of the game, it was possible to stay on the mound until the 7th to 8th inning, but due to unexpected variables, KIA had to activate the bullpen early.

This is the first time in KBO League history that a headshot was ejected from a PO.

In the postseason, he is the third after Kim Jeong-su of the SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers) in Game 4 of the 2003 Korean Series and Ryu Je-guk of the LG Twins in Game 1 of the 2014 semi-playoffs.

Kim Jeong-su was ordered to be ejected after hitting Hyundai Unicorns Jeon Jun-ho, but at the time, there was no automatic ejection rule for headshots.

Ryu Je-guk hit NC Dinos’ Mo Chang-min on the head.