# Key Stories

Well, KIA gave the Lions more of a head start today, waiting until the second inning to build a big lead. Kim Tae-gun blasted a 3-run homer as part of a 5-run inning, and Samsung once again found themselves trying to claw their way out of a big hole. Kim Do-yeong added on in the third with his 32nd HR of the season, and as predicted in the pre-game write-up, Chris Paddack now knows what it feels like to see a ball he’s pitched hit over the fence. Backed by excellent hitting by Harold Castro and Na Sung-bum, James Naile kept the Lions’ best hitters at bay all night. Samsung sees their lead at the top of the mountain fall dangerously small, and they could find themselves starting August in second place.

What a day to be a KT Wiz fan. For the first time in 37 days, 69 long at-bats, prized youngster Ahn Hyun-min has hit a home run - 445ft of pure relief. And it felt so nice, he decided to do it again in his next at-bat. After the first one, it was a bat-flip. As soon as he cracked the second one, he threw the bat towards his dugout. He knew how much he needed that, and how much his team needed to him to do that. Sam Hilliard also got involved in the party, hitting his 28th of the season late in the game, and the Wiz swept a reeling Dinos squad, outscoring them 30-5 across the three games. It’s also the first time KT have scored double-digit runs in three consecutive games since 3rd-5th September 2021. This hurts for NC, as both the teams above them won their games today, and they go into a weekend series with a playoff team who just put the belt to Samsung, which rarely happens in consecutive days.

Nobody told Na Gyun-an he was struggling to find consistent form. Even though he left the game one out short of a quality start, he still pitched with effortless confidence, striking out 8 batters in his 5.2 innings, allowing only the one earned run. And I know I said Hanwha could afford to sacrifice a few runs per game in order to get some wins, but they might have taken that too far. That is, until Lotte decided they didn’t want to win in the first place. The bottom of the ninth starts with a single and walk, which put the winning run on first base. The Giants then decided to intentionally walk a pinch hitter, and Hanwha made them rue that decision, as Lee Do-yun smacked a double into right field that plated the tying and winning run. Not a lot went right for Lotte today, but the only caveat is that the teams above and below them both lost, too, so they don’t fall under more pressure. Yet.

No offence to the SSG pitcher, but I never thought I’d write “Thomas Hatch just out-duelled Choi Min-seok”. But that’s what we have here. The Doosan star had everything going well, working around his five walks, but a bad pitch in the fifth inning gave Bligh Madris his third home run since joining the team and swung the game in the Landers’ favour. Min-seok was pulled immediately. Unfortunately for Hatch, his bullpen couldn’t follow his lead, and Doosan used an 8th inning comeback to take the win, their 50th of the season, and keep themselves one game back of fourth place. He might not have gotten his tenth win, but Choi Min-seok will just be happy he didn’t get saddled with a loss.

Another day, another early lead turned into a loss for Kiwoom. They started off so well, giving themselves a 3-0 cushion after the first inning, but they couldn’t add to it, nor could they stop the Twins from coming back. Home runs by Austin Dean and Song Chan-eui were enough to give LG a lead that they never relinquished. The bullpen finished off three almost perfect innings after Im Chan-kyu vacated the mound, and LG take two out of three from the basement dwellers of the league. And it gives me great pleasure to finally say…a pitcher has finally reached 10 wins this season, and he does so for the fourth consecutive season.  

Today’s Results & Key Stories (July 30th, 2026)