KT Wiz Suwon vs Kiwoom Heroes

Kiwoom struck in the first. Leadoff man Seo Geon-chang and Keston Hiura reached on consecutive singles off KT starter Oh Won-seok. After Matt Davidson struck out, Park Chan-hyeok launched a 110-metre three-run homer to left — his eighth of the season — giving the visitors a 3–0 lead.

KT replied in the second. Heo Kyung-min singled and Kim Sang-soo doubled, putting runners on second and third with nobody out. Jang Jin-hyuk's sacrifice fly to right pulled one back, making it 3–1.

The game broke open in the third. Hiura and Park Chan-hyeok walked, Choo Jae-hyun advanced them on a groundout, and Kim Gun-hee ripped a two-run double into the left-centre gap. Gwon Hyuk-bin followed with an RBI single, Im Byung-wook was hit by a pitch, and Yeo Dong-uk drove in another with a single that also drew a left-field error. Seo Geon-chang was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and pinch-hitter An Chi-hong drew an RBI walk against reliever Bae Je-seong. The five-run frame made it 8–1.

Im Byung-wook led off the fifth with a solo homer to right off Lee Sang-dong — his 10th of the campaign — extending the lead to 9–1.

KT mounted a response in the bottom half. Jang Jin-hyuk doubled, and after two outs, Choi Won-jun singled him home. Kim Hyun-soo followed with an RBI double and Ahn Hyun-min added an RBI single, cutting the deficit to 9–4.

An Chi-hong put it beyond doubt in the eighth, crushing a solo homer off Sugimoto Kouki — his ninth of the season — to make it 10–4.

KT loaded the bases with one out in the ninth on singles by Kwon Dong-jin, Choi Won-jun and Kim Hyun-soo. Ahn Hyun-min's fielder's choice brought in one run, but Kanakubo Yuto induced Sam Hilliard to fly out to centre, sealing the 10–5 win.

The third-inning explosion. Kiwoom sent nine men to the plate against Oh Won-seok and Bae Je-seong, racking up four hits, three walks, a hit-by-pitch and five runs. The 8–1 lead forced KT to abandon their starting pitcher before he could record his ninth out and gave Kiwoom's offence all the cushion it needed.

• Park Chan-hyeok (Kiwoom): 2-for-4 with a walk, a three-run homer and three RBI. His first-inning blast set the tone and his plate discipline (two walks) helped fuel the third-inning rally.
• An Chi-hong (Kiwoom): Entered as a pinch-hitter in the third and drew a bases-loaded walk, then crushed an eighth-inning solo homer. Two appearances, two runs contributed.
• Ha Young-min (Kiwoom): 6 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 4 R (2 ER). Battled through a rocky fifth but kept KT from ever truly threatening the lead. Earned his fifth win of the season.
• Choi Won-jun (KT): 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. One of four KT hitters with multi-hit games, but his production came too late to shift the momentum.

Kiwoom out-hit KT 12–13 — a narrow edge — but out-scored them 10–5, reflecting the damage distribution. All three Kiwoom home runs were solo or multi-run shots, accounting for six of their ten runs. KT's 13 hits produced only five runs, partly because Ha Young-min worked out of jams (two walks, four strikeouts) and partly because KT left runners on base in the ninth when one big hit could have made it a one-run game. Both sides committed one error, but KT's miscue in the third — a left-field fumble on Yeo Dong-uk's single — extended the inning and led to an additional run.

KT Wiz remain top of the KBO at 61–39–2 but missed a chance to build further separation with the season entering its final stretch. Kiwoom, anchored firmly in last place at 40–67–2, snapped a six-game head-to-head losing streak against KT and a two-game overall slide. The teams wrap up their weekend series on 16 August at Suwon KT Wiz Park.

Kiwoom's offence has been the league's weakest on paper, but for one night it looked every bit the equal of a championship contender. Three well-timed home runs and a disciplined approach at the plate (eight walks drawn) overwhelmed a KT pitching staff that entered the game in solid form. If the Heroes can carry any of this momentum forward, they might yet play spoiler in the KBO's closing weeks.