KIA-LG fight for 3rd place with Han Dong-hee's grand slam, deciding the final game on the 12th

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Jang Hyeon-gu = The 3rd place winner in professional baseball will ultimately be decided on the final day of the regular season.

The KIA Tigers lost 1-4 to the Lotte Giants in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League home game held at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, Jeollanam-do on the 11th.

In the top of the 6th inning when the game was tied 0-0, Lotte Han Dong-hee hit KIA starter Adam Ohler with a bases-loaded home run with 2 outs and bases loaded, splitting the game.

KIA, which was able to secure 3rd place with just a draw, will eventually face the LG Twins in an inevitable match at home on the 12th to advance directly to the semi-playoffs.

To take 3rd place, 4th place LG, half a game behind, must defeat KIA, and even if KIA draws, 3rd place will be decided.

Lotte Victor Reyes reached base with a single to left-center field with two outs in the sixth inning and scored the winning run on Han Dong-hee's grand slam.

In the first inning, he hit two hits, including a double that flowed through the left line, increasing his most hits to 207.

t wiz Choi Won-jun hit a right-handed hit in the last at-bat of the 9th inning of the visiting game against the Samsung Lions held at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on this day, chasing Reyes with 205 hits.

Reyes will play the final game of the season on the 12th against the Doosan Bears, and Wonjun Choi will play against Samsung.

Lotte left-handed starting pitcher Jin-wook Kim struck out 6 batters in 6 innings and blocked the KIA batting line with 0 runs with 3 sporadic hits, earning his 7th win (9 loss) of the season.

Kim Jin-wook, who joined the starting rotation this year, finished the year with the most wins in the season since his debut in 2021 and exceeded the required number of innings (144 innings) for the first time, brightening his outlook for next year.

In Daegu, KT, which had already confirmed first place in the regular league, defeated second place Samsung 12-3 and won 9 consecutive games, increasing its record for most wins in a season since its inception to 89 (5 draws, 49 losses).

Foreign pitcher Sam Hilliard took the lead in the big win by scoring a solo shot to left-center in the second inning and a solo shot to left-center in the third inning, scoring 5 RBIs with 3 hits.

Hilliard, who hit his 43rd and 44th home runs, jumped to the joint lead in home runs with Kim Do-young (KIA), and their competition for the home run title continued until the final game.

Hilliard solidified the RBI title with 139 RBIs.

KT starter Ko Young-pyo pitched 5 innings with 1 run (non-earned), earning his 15th win (7 losses) and tied for first place in most wins with Lim Chan-gyu (LG).

If Lim Chan-gyu, who is making a surprise appearance in the third place match against KIA, wins, he will become the sole leader in multiple wins.

The 2026 professional baseball regular league will conclude its six-month journey with three games between Lotte-Doosan (Jamsil), KT-Samsung (Daegu), and LG-KIA (Jeonnam Gwangju) on the 12th.