Gwangju:Kia Tigers manager Lee Bum-ho took a moment to express his admiration for his star player, Kim Do-yeong, after the slugger's impressive performance on Saturday. Kim hit two home runs and drove in four runs, leading the Tigers to a 5-1 victory over the LG Twins in the opening game of their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason series at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim's solo home run in the fourth inning broke a 1-1 tie, and his two-run homer in the eighth cemented the Tigers' lead. He also contributed with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning, demonstrating his ability to impact the game significantly.
Manager Lee praised Kim, who led the KBO with 45 home runs in the regular season, stating, "He knows how to hit home runs. I think this victory showed how Kim Do-yeong can singlehandedly change the complexion of a game. The first game in any postseason series is always important and I am quite satisfied with the way we performed today as a team."
On the opposing side, Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb acknowledged the challenges of containing Kim. Despite preparing strategies to manage Kim's strong hitting, Youm admitted that their pitchers struggled to execute, leading to Kim capitalizing on their mistakes. "Kim Do-yeong did not miss on those mistakes," Youm said. "He is a great player and I tip my cap to him."
The Twins missed several scoring opportunities, including a key moment in the sixth inning with two runners on base and no outs. Youm expressed disappointment, saying, "Our big bats had a few at-bats with runners in scoring position and we just didn't capitalize on them. That is just how baseball goes sometimes."