KBO League “superstar” Kim Do-young (KIA Tigers) hit a grand slam against Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) ace Rivan Moinello (SoftBank Hawks).
Kim Do-young stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the top of the second inning to give South Korea a 2-0 lead in their World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 2024 Group B match against Cuba at Tianmu Stadium in Taipei, Taiwan, on Thursday.
In the bottom of the second inning, Moon Bo-kyung led off with a double, followed by a single by Park Sung-han and an infield single by Choi Won-joon.
Hong Chang-ki then drew a walk to load the bases, and Shin Min-jae made it 2-0 when he was hit by a pitch to center field.
With Moinello swinging, 파워볼사이트 Kim Do-young stepped up to the plate and hit a lightning fastball over the left field fence for a grand slam.
It was Kim's first home run as a senior international.
Based on the national baseball team, which is dominated by professional players, this is the first grand slam by a Korean hitter since Park Gun-woo (NC Dinos) and Kim Ha-seong (San Diego Padres), who hit back-to-back grand slams in the fourth and fifth innings of last year's World Baseball Classic (WBC).
Kim's walk-off blast completely changed the momentum for South Korea, which lost 3-6 against Taiwan the previous day after struggling in the second inning, including a two-run home run by Ko Young-pyo (KT WIZ).
Moinello is 11-5 in the NPB this season with a 1.88 ERA, which leads the Pacific League in ERA.
The Koreans were unable to score a run against Moinello, who threw a fastball up to 158 mph in the first inning, but after the top of the second inning, the batting order was able to capitalize perfectly.
Moinello was eventually relieved by Yusniel Padron to start the third inning.