SSG Landers Field in Incheon, South Korea, hosted the 2023 KBO League matchup between KT and SSG on Thursday. SSG’s underhanded starter Park Jong-hoon walked the first three batters to start the game. Next up to bat was KT’s No. 4 hitter Park Byung-ho 메이저사이트 (pictured). Struggling with his pitches, Jong-hoon pushed a 139-kilometer-per-hour pitch up the middle on a 2B-1S pitch count, and Byung-ho Park didn’t miss it, turning his bat wide. The ball sailed over the fence in right field. It was Byung-ho Park’s sixth home run of the season and eighth of his career.
It was the 27th time in his career that the No. 4 batter hit a home run in the first inning. Only Shim Jung-soo, Kim Dong-joo and Park Byung-ho have done it twice.
With 12 hits and 11 walks, including Park Byung-ho’s leadoff blast, KT defeated SSG 14-4 to break out of a three-game losing streak. With the loss, first-place SSG (36-1, 22) fell to within half a game of second-place LG (36-2, 23), which beat Samsung 3-2.
Park Byung-ho, who joined KT as a free agent last year, has rebounded to hit .275 with 35 home runs and 98 RBIs. However, he has struggled this season, batting .269 with five home runs and 27 RBIs before this game.
However, Park has been on a roll lately. After hitting home runs against Kiwoom on the 9th and 11th of this month, Park has been on a roll with three home runs and seven RBIs in his last five games, including today’s grand slam. “I will try to find a good batting balance so that I can lead the team to victory with a long hit like today,” Park said.