▲ KIA's Yang Hyeon-jong, Second Player in History to Reach 190 Wins
KIA Tigers veteran left-handed pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong has become only the second player in KBO League history to reach the 190-win milestone.
Yang started the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League home game against the LG Twins at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field on Thursday (June 18), holding the LG lineup to two runs (one earned) over five innings.
Leaving the mound in the sixth inning with a 3-2 lead to put himself in line for the win, Yang secured his 190th career victory as the Tigers went on to win 4-2. It was his fifth attempt to reach the milestone since picking up his third win of the season on May 13.
Yang, who ranks second in all-time KBO League wins, closed the gap on leader Song Jin-woo (210 wins) to 20.
Yang ran into trouble of his own making, struggling with his control and giving up six walks.
In the first inning, with one out and bases loaded, he allowed the opening run on a pickoff error at third base, and in the fourth, he gave up an RBI single to Gu Bon-hyeok.
The KIA lineup turned the game around by capitalizing on a single opportunity in the fifth inning.
With runners on first and third and no outs following back-to-back hits by Kim Kyu-sung and Park Min, Kim Ho-ryeong hit a double to center field to tie the game at 2-2. KIA then took a 3-2 lead on a groundout by Kim Do-yeong.
KIA pulled ahead 4-2 in the eighth inning on an RBI double down the left-field line by Park Min.
A five-man bullpen consisting of Cho Sang-woo, Kim Bum-su, Gwak Do-gyu, Jung Hae-young, and Seong Yeong-tak combined for scoreless relief to preserve Yang's 190th victory.
KIA's Harold Castro, returning after 54 days out with a torn left hamstring, went 2-for-4 in his comeback game.
In Daegu, the Samsung Lions edged the Kiwoom Heroes 4-3, securing their second consecutive walk-off victory.
Third-place Samsung extended their winning streak to five games and closed the gap on the second-place KT Wiz to one game.
Following Koo Ja-wook's walk-off hit the previous day (Wednesday), veteran slugger Choi Hyoung-woo, now in his 40s, emerged as the hero of the day.
With Samsung trailing 3-1 in the seventh inning, Choi leveled the score with a two-run double down the left-field line.
In the bottom of the ninth, with one out and bases loaded following two hit-by-pitches and an infield single by Kim Sung-yoon, Choi ended the game with a sacrifice fly to center field.
Choi, who drove in all three of his team's late runs, increased his career RBI total to 1,785, leaving him just 15 shy of becoming the first player in KBO history to reach 1,800 RBIs.
The NC Dinos shut out the Hanwha Eagles 6-0 in Changwon, sweeping the three-game midweek home series.
The gap between seventh-place NC and sixth-place Hanwha, who suffered their sixth straight loss, was narrowed to 0.5 games.
NC scored the game-winning run in the first inning, capitalizing on consecutive errors by Hanwha.
Leadoff hitter Kim Ju-won reached second base on a catching error by the first baseman.
He then strolled home after pitcher Wilkel Hernandez made a pickoff error at second base, followed by a throwing error to third by center fielder Oh Jae-won, who had retrieved the ball.
NC added two runs in the second inning on an RBI double down the right-field line by An Jung-yeol and an RBI single to center by Kim Ju-won, before seizing control of the game in the fifth with a two-run home run by Cheon Jae-hwan that hit the left-field foul pole.
Cheon sealed the victory in the seventh with an RBI single to center, extending the lead to 6-0 and recording his third RBI of the game.
NC starting pitcher Curtis Taylor earned the win, shutting down the Hanwha lineup over six scoreless innings despite allowing four hits and two walks.
At Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, the Doosan Bears edged the KT Wiz 2-1, snapping KT's four-game winning streak.
The game featured a tight pitching duel, with Doosan's second-year right-hander Choi Min-seok giving up one run over six innings, while KT's So Hyeong-jun, making his first appearance in 44 days after recovering from shoulder pain, allowed one run over five innings.
The game-winning run came in the seventh inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, pinch hitter Jung Soo-bin led off for Doosan with a double down the left-field line off KT's third pitcher, Kim Min-soo. Park Chan-ho then delivered a well-placed RBI single to right field.
Jung, who had been resting due to a left pinky finger injury, ran with all his might to cross home plate.
In Incheon, the Lotte Giants and the SSG Landers played to a 2-2 draw after 11 innings.
SSG took an early lead in the first inning with a solo home run over the left field wall by Choi Jeong, but Lotte turned the tables in the top of the fourth with a two-run homer to left by Han Dong-hee.
SSG leveled the score at 2-2 in the fifth inning with a solo home run by Guillermo Heredia.
Lotte subsequently failed to score despite putting runners on third base twice, in both the seventh and the 11th innings.
The SSG lineup went down in order in both extra innings, leaving a sense of disappointment.
(Photo: Courtesy of KIA Tigers, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.