LG Twins infielder Moon Jeong-bin hits a grand slam at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul on Aug. 18.LG TWINS
LG Twins infielder Moon Jeong-bin hit the first grand slam of his career Tuesday, powering his team to a 9-1 victory over the league-leading KT Wiz at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul.
Moon delivered the decisive blow with LG leading 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out and the bases loaded, he drove KT starter So Hyeong-jun's second pitch, a two-seam fastball, over the right-field wall for his 14th home run of the season.
The grand slam stretched LG's narrow one-run lead to 6-1. It was Moon's first grand slam in five professional seasons: his 76th game and 218th plate appearance.
Moon added an RBI double in the seventh to finish with a career-high five RBIs.
Selected by LG in the eighth round of the 2022 KBO draft, Moon played one season before beginning his mandatory military service. After completing his service, he excelled in the Futures League — the KBO's developmental league for reserve and developing players — batting .489 with six home runs and 23 RBIs in 28 games. He also posted an OPS of 1.369.
Moon was promoted to LG's first-team roster in 2025 but struggled in his first taste of top-level KBO baseball, batting .167 with two home runs and four RBIs in 21 games.
He has broken out this season, batting .305 with 14 home runs, 44 RBIs and a 1.031 OPS through 55 games. Moon has recently taken over the cleanup spot, traditionally occupied by one of a team's strongest run-producing hitters, in place of infielder Moon Bo-gyeong.
Winners of KBO's "2025 Real Glove Award" take a picture at Grand Walkerhill hotel in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul, on Dec. 1, 2025.NEWS1
Along with Moon Bo-gyeong and outfielder Moon Sung-ju, Moon Jeong-bin's emergence has also given rise to the nickname "Jamsil Moon trio."
LG starter Im Chan-kyu allowed one run on three hits and two walks or hit batters over six innings. The victory improved Im to 11-4, tying Kia Tigers pitcher Adam Oller for the league lead in wins. Im is now three victories away from 100 for his career.
Outfielder Park Hae-min stole second base in the seventh inning to reach 30 stolen bases for the third consecutive season, becoming the 13th player in KBO history to accomplish the feat.
Elsewhere in the KBO, the Lotte Giants scored a remarkable 13 runs in the seventh inning to come back from an eight-run deficit and beat the Kiwoom Heroes 15-10.
Trailing 8-0 in the bottom of the seventh, Lotte combined 11 hits and three walks with two Kiwoom errors in the 13-run rally. Lotte's previous franchise record for runs in a single inning was 11, achieved against the Hanwha Eagles at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on Oct. 4, 2022, and against the Samsung Lions on June 28, 1995.
Infielder Han Dong-hui, starting at third base for the first time in 10 games, hit a grand slam — his 15th home run of the season — to pull Lotte within a run at 8-7. It was his first grand slam since June 15, 2022, also against Hanwha, 1,525 days earlier.
LG starter Im Chan-kyu pitches a ball at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul on Aug. 18.LG TWINS
The Doosan Bears snapped a two-game losing streak with a 6-4 comeback victory over the NC Dinos in Changwon, South Gyeongsang. Doosan trailed 3-0 before solo home runs from catcher Yun Jun-ho and catcher Yang Eui-ji cut into the deficit. Outfielder Kim Min-suk tied the game with an RBI single in the eighth.
Doosan then scored three runs in the top of the ninth, taking the lead on a bases-loaded walk to Yang before outfielder Jung Soo-bin added a hit.
In Daegu, the SSG Landers extended their winning streak to two games with a 5-4 victory over the Samsung Lions.
Samsung went ahead in the eighth on a solo home run by outfielder Choi Hyoung-woo, breaking a 1-1 tie. SSG responded in the top of the ninth with three consecutive hits from infielder Jeon Eui-san and outfielders Han Yoo-seom and Oh Tae-gon to tie the game. Catcher Cho Hyeong-woo then drove in the go-ahead run before infielder Jeong Jun-jae added an insurance run.
Kia beat Hanwha 4-3 in Daejeon for its third straight victory, retaining fourth place in the standings. Pitcher Lee Eui-lee, recently moved to the closer role, entered with two outs in the eighth and pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for his third save of the season.
Infielder Kim Do-yeong hit his 36th home run of the season in the seventh inning with Kia leading 4-2.
BY KIM HYO-KYOUNG [shin.woojin@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
