Park Chan-ho of the Kia Tigers slides into third base after hitting a two-run triple against the Samsung Lions during the clubs’ Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul, on Sept. 10, 2025, in this photo provided by the Tigers. (Yonhap)
GWANGJU, Sept. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Park Chan-ho knocked in three runs from the No. 2 spot, as the Kia Tigers defeated the Samsung Lions 4-0 at home Wednesday to keep their flickering postseason hopes alive in the Korea Baseball Organization.
Park put the Tigers on the board with an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning and then provided some insurance with a two-run triple in the bottom eighth before 9,793 fans at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul.
Kim Sun-bin added an RBI single in the three-run eighth inning for the Tigers, who improved to 59-64-4 (wins-losses-ties).
With 17 games to go, the Tigers are 3 1/2 games back of the fifth and final postseason spot, now occupied by the Lions (65-63-2).
The two starting pitchers, James Naile for the Tigers and Gerson Garabito for the Lions, traded zeroes for five innings, though Naile had to clean up his own mess in the top fifth after loading the bases with a single and two walks.
With two outs, Naile battled veteran Kang Min-ho for seven pitches before getting him to hit a soft grounder to third.
Cho Sang-woo of the Kia Tigers pitches against the Samsung Lions during the clubs’ Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul, on Sept. 10, 2025, in this photo provided by the Tigers. (Yonhap)
The Tigers, with among the league’s most anemic offenses in the second half of the season, couldn’t get much going against Garabito.
Park Chan-ho led off the fourth inning with a single, but then the three hitters in the heart of the lineup — Kim Sun-bin, Choi Hyoung-woo and Na Sung-bum — all struck out against Garabito.
The Tigers finally solved Garabito in the sixth inning, when Park Chan-ho drove in Kim Ho-ryung, who’d drawn a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, by smoking a double down the left field line.
Park advanced to third on a flyout, before Choi Hyoung-woo walked and then stole second to give the Tigers two men in scoring position. Na Sung-bum, though, struck out for the third straight time, whiffing on a 3-2 fastball.
Park then extended the Tigers’ lead in the eighth inning. With men at first and second, Park sent a sinking liner toward right fielder Kim Seong-yoon, who couldn’t make a diving grab and instead let the skip past him, all the way to the track. As both runners scored, Park reached third base without a throw for his second triple of the season.
Kim Sun-bin cashed in Park with a single for a 4-0 Tigers advantage.
After Naile was pulled following five laborious innings, the Tigers’ bullpen kept the door shut over the final four frames. Cho Sang-woo was credited with the win after getting the final two outs of the sixth inning.
Sung Yeong-tak erased a leadoff single with a double play ball in the seventh, and Jeon Sang-hyun escaped the eighth inning unscathed after putting two runners in scoring position.
Garabito was the hard-luck loser after allowing only one run on four hits and striking out eight in six frames.
(Yonhap)
