KIA Tigers Surge to 5th Place: Key Highlights from the 2026 KBO League Match Against Lotte Giants

KIA team / Photo: DB

[Sports Today reporter Shin Seo-young] The KIA Tigers moved into sole possession of fifth place after an 8-2 road win over the Lotte Giants.

KIA beat Lotte 8-2 on May 8 at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League.

The victory improved KIA’s record to 16-1-18, lifting them from a tie for sixth with Doosan into fifth place alone.

Lotte fell to 13-1-19 and remain in ninth.

Starter Hwang Dong-ha delivered six strong innings for KIA, allowing five hits (one home run), issuing two walks, striking out four and surrendering one run to earn his third win of the season.

Offensively, Park Jae-hyun led the charge, going 3-for-4 with two homers, two RBIs, three runs scored and a walk. Park Sang-jun added a 3-for-4 outing with an RBI, a run and a walk.

Replacement foreign hitter Aderlin continued a historic start to his KBO career: all four of his hits in the league so far have been home runs — the first time that’s ever happened.

Lotte starter Na Gyun-an took the loss, working 6.1 innings and yielding nine hits (two homers), one walk, two strikeouts and three runs. Ko Seung-min hit a solo shot in the fourth — his first homer since returning from suspension.

KIA struck first. In the top of the first, leadoff batter Park Jae-hyun ripped Na’s second pitch, a 123 km/h slider (76.5 mph), over the right-field fence for a leadoff solo homer.

Lotte answered in the fourth. Ko Seung-min turned on Hwang’s 118 km/h curveball (73.3 mph) and launched a 130-meter (427-ft) solo shot to center-right, knotting the game.

KIA reclaimed control in the seventh with a multi-run frame. After one out, Park Jae-hyun homered to center-right to make it 2-1. Park Sang-jun followed with a double to left to extend the rally.

Lotte made a pitching change, replacing Na with Hyun Do-hoon. But Hyun allowed a hit to Kim Sun-bin and issued a walk to Kim Do-young to load the bases with one out. On an Aderlin infield grounder, the shortstop mishandled the play, allowing Park Sang-jun to score and KIA to add another run.

A second pitch change couldn’t stop the bleeding. Na Sung-beom hit a sacrifice fly off the new pitcher Jeong Hyun-su, and with two outs and runners at the corners, Kim Do-young scored on a wild pitch by reliever Choi Yi-jun to push the lead to 5-1.

KIA kept pressure on in the eighth: Park Jae-hyun drew a walk and Park Sang-jun followed with an RBI double for another run. In the ninth, with no outs and a runner on first, Aderlin crushed a two-run homer to center off Kyoyama, putting the game out of reach at 8-1.

With a seven-run cushion, KIA summoned closer Jang Jae-hyeok for the ninth. Jang allowed an RBI single to Yoo Kang-nam with two outs and runners on first and second but finished the inning without further damage to seal the win.

[Sports Today reporter Shin Seo-young sports@stoo.com]
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