Choi Jeong of the SSG Landers stands next to a plaque commemorating his 500th career home run in the Korea Baseball Organization during a regular-season game against the NC Dinos at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, just west of Seoul, on May 13, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
INCHEON, May 13 (Korea Bizwire) — All-Star slugger Choi Jeong blasted a milestone home run as the SSG Landers rallied for a 6-3 win over the NC Dinos on a historic Tuesday night in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
Choi became the first player in KBO history to reach 500 career home runs, with a two-run shot off Dinos starter Riley Thompson in the bottom of the sixth inning before 12,746 fans at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, just west of Seoul. Choi’s milestone homer knotted the score at 2-2.
The Dinos responded with Seo Ho-cheol’s go-ahead RBI single in the top seventh, but the Landers punched right back with four runs in the bottom eighth.
The Landers, winners of three straight games, improved to 19-20-1 (wins-losses-ties) and snapped the Dinos’ season-best winning streak at seven games. The Dinos fell to 17-19-1.
The Dinos jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, thanks to Kim Ju-won’s solo home run and Park Kun-woo’s RBI double off starter Moon Seung-won.
That appeared to be more than enough run support for Thompson, who struck out six of the first seven batters he faced and gave up just one hit through five innings.
But the Landers finally solved the American right-hander in the bottom sixth. After Park Seong-han singled with two outs to keep the inning alive, Choi stepped up and turned on a 3-2 slider for the game-tying, history-making two-run home run.
Seo’s two-out hit in the top seventh put the Dinos ahead again, but the Landers wouldn’t be denied on a night when their franchise icon made history.
Park Seong-han drew a leadoff walk against reliever Bae Jae-whan and Choi Jeong followed up with an infield single. Then Han Yoo-seom’s double to right field cashed in Park for the tying run.
With the first base open, the Dinos intentionally walked Ryan McBroom to load the bases and set up a force play at every base. But that strategy backfired when Choi Jun-woo chopped a single to right, just underneath the glove of the diving second baseman Park Min-woo, to plate two runs for a 5-3 Landers lead.
Two batters later, Jeong Jun-jae extended the lead to 6-3 with an RBI single.
(Yonhap)
