On Children’s Day, the KBO served up power displays and late-game drama. The KIA Tigers rode Kim Do-young’s bat to a blowout, KT Wiz used late-inning resilience to stop Lotte’s streak, the Samsung Lions got a big win behind foreign starter Jack O’Roclin’s first victory, and the LG Twins took the Jamsil rivalry.
KIA defeated the Hanwha Eagles 12-7 in Gwangju. Leading the charge was Kim Do-young. The No. 4 designated hitter went 3-for-4 with a homer, an RBI and three runs. His fifth-inning solo shot to center traveled 130 m and was his 12th of the season, moving him into sole possession of the home run lead. He’s also tied for the league lead with 34 RBIs, reinforcing his spot as one of the KBO’s top bats.
New foreign slugger Aderlin Rodriguez made an immediate impact, homering to center with a three-run shot in his first plate appearance to become the 22nd player in KBO history to homer in his debut at-bat. KIA briefly trailed 3-5 but recovered after a rough second inning in which they allowed four runs. Park Jae-hyun’s solo homer and Kim Do-young’s blast in the fifth flipped the game, and a four-run seventh inning put the result out of reach.
The first-place KT Wiz also came out on top in a tight game. In Suwon they beat Lotte 5-4, extending their winning streak to two and keeping control of first place. Lotte went ahead 2-1 in the sixth on Victor Reyes’ two-RBI single, but KT answered in the bottom half: Yoo Jun-kyu’s RBI single and pinch-hitter Lee Jung-hoon’s two-run hit turned a deficit into a 4-2 lead. Lotte tied it in the eighth, but heads-up baserunning from Kim Sang-su and Kwon Dong-jin’s go-ahead double put KT back in front. Park Young-hyun slammed the door with a five-out relief appearance to finish the game.
Samsung rolled past Kiwoom 11-1 in Daegu. Starter Jack O’Roclin delivered six innings of four-hit, one-run ball with seven strikeouts to earn his first win in his seventh start (1-2). The offense exploded: Koo Ja-wook, in his return, went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Choi Hyung-woo went 2-for-3 with four RBIs as Samsung totaled 12 hits to overwhelm Kiwoom’s pitching staff.
The Jamsil Children’s Day showdown belonged to LG. The Twins beat Doosan 2-1 in a tight pitchers’ duel. Starter Lachlan Wells worked five innings and allowed one run, and the bullpen gave up only two hits over four innings to protect the lead. The game-winner came in the seventh when Park Hae-min delivered an RBI single. Still, LG could be without cleanup hitter Moon Bo-kyung after he suffered a left ankle ligament injury during the game.
The player who fired up fans the most on Children’s Day was Kim Do-young: 12 homers on the season, 34 RBIs, and a 3-hit, 3-run performance. The numbers told the story.
Photo: KIA Tigers / Yonhap News
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