▲ KIA Tigers' Kim Do-young (File Photo)
Three teams at the top of the professional baseball standings extended their winning streaks to three games, racing toward the postseason.
On June 16, the sole leader LG Twins defeated the KIA Tigers 8-2 in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League match held at Gwangju Kia Champions Field, backed by starting pitcher Lachlan Wells' strong performance and every starting batter recording a hit.
LG, riding a three-game winning streak, maintained its first-place position, keeping a two-game lead over the second-place KT Wiz.
In the top of the first inning, LG took the lead with Austin Dean's solo home run over the left wall, but KIA tied it 1-1 in the bottom half when Kim Ho-ryeong hit a solo home run.
However, in the top of the second, LG went ahead 3-1 after Moon Sung-ju hit a single to right, Song Chan-eui hit a lucky double with a broken bat, and Park Dong-won followed with a double to left-center.
LG added another run in the fourth, and in the top of the sixth, Park Dong-won hit a solo home run to extend the lead to 5-1.
KIA pulled one back in the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run by Kim Do-young.
But LG sealed the victory in the top of the seventh, scoring three runs on five consecutive hits and a bases-loaded walk.
LG's Asian Quota player Wells pitched six innings, allowing three hits, two walks, and two runs to earn his fourth win of the season (against two losses).
Co-leaders in home runs, Kim Do-young and Austin, both hit their 20th home runs of the season, continuing their fierce race.
KT Wiz defeated the Doosan Bears 6-2 in an away game at Jamsil, extending their winning streak to three games.
Doosan took the early lead in the bottom of the first with back-to-back hits by Cho Soo-haeng and Daz Cameron, followed by Yang Eui-ji's sacrifice fly.
KT turned the game around in the top of the third, scoring four runs on three hits, including a two-run home run by Sam Hilliard, and one walk.
In the top of the fifth, with runners on first and third and one out, KT added two runs on RBI singles by Ahn Hyun-min and Kim Min-hyuk to stretch the lead to 6-1.
Doosan only managed to pull one back in the bottom of the sixth on Lee Yu-chan's triple.
Ahn Hyun-min, returning after 62 days out with a thigh injury, tuned up his batting sense with one hit and two RBIs in three at-bats.
KT starter Ko Young-pyo struck out three and allowed nine hits over six innings, but limited the damage to two runs to earn the win.
In Daegu, the Samsung Lions defeated the Kiwoom Heroes 4-1.
With the game scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, Samsung took the lead on a bases-loaded walk as Kiwoom starter Ha Yeong-min struggled, issuing four walks and hit-by-pitches.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Ha was replaced due to a blister on his finger, and Samsung's timely hits followed.
Samsung added three runs as Park Seung-gyu and Lewin Diaz hit consecutive singles against reliever Kim Sung-jin, quickly pulling ahead 4-0.
Trailing Kiwoom pulled one back in the top of the eighth when Keston Hiura reached on a hit-by-pitch and Kim Woong-bin drove him in with a double to right-center.
Kiwoom failed to score further when, with the bases loaded and one out, pinch hitter Kim Geon-hee hit a fly ball to right field, but third-base runner Kim Woong-bin was thrown out at the plate by a precise throw from Samsung's Kim Sung-yoon.
Samsung starter Won Tae-in struck out six and allowed five hits over six scoreless innings to earn the win.
Third-place Samsung, also on a three-game winning streak, pushed fourth-place KIA, which lost on the day, four games back.
In Changwon, the NC Dinos edged out the Hanwha Eagles 6-5.
NC took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Kim Ju-won, who hit a double, scored on Park Kun-woo's sacrifice fly.
Hanwha overturned the score to 2-1 in the top of the third with runners on first and second and one out, thanks to an RBI single by Oh Jae-won and a sacrifice fly by Yonathan Perlaza.
However, NC tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the third with hits by Kim Ju-won and Park Min-woo followed by a groundout.
In the bottom of the fourth, with runners on second and third and no outs, NC scored two runs on Kim Hyung-jun's sacrifice fly and Kwon Hee-dong's RBI single, before Park Min-woo hit a two-run RBI single to extend the lead to 6-2.
Hanwha pulled within one run in the top of the eighth when Kang Baek-ho hit a three-run home run, but failed to overturn the game, suffering their fourth consecutive loss.
NC ace Koo Chang-mo struck out eight and allowed five hits and two runs (one earned) through six innings to secure his seventh win of the season (against two losses).
NC manager Lee Ho-joon earned his 100th career win (101 losses, 7 draws).
The Lotte Giants defeated the SSG Landers 10-6 in an away game in Incheon, escaping the bottom of the standings after two days.
SSG took an early lead in the bottom of the first when Choi Jeong hit a two-run home run over the left wall following Park Seong-han's infield hit.
Trailing Lotte saw its batting lineup explode in the top of the fifth.
With one out and a runner on second, Lotte pulled one back with Victor Reyes' RBI single, and with the bases loaded, Jeon Min-jae hit a grand slam over the left wall to overturn the score to 5-1.
This was the first grand slam for Jeon Min-jae, who joined the league in 2018.
Lotte, which had Na Seung-yeup hit a solo home run in the seventh, sealed the game in the top of the eighth with Reyes' two-run double followed by Na Seung-yeup's two-run home run, marking home runs in consecutive plate appearances.
Eighth-place SSG fell into a three-game losing streak.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.