GWANGJU, South Korea (Interstat) — A towering fifth-inning grand slam from Kim Do-young shattered a tie game and propelled the Kia Tigers to a 6-2 victory over the Kiwoom Heroes on Tuesday evening at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field, snapping the Heroes’ brief winning streak and moving the Tigers back to the .500 mark.

The game, played before an announced crowd on a cool April night, was a tightly contested pitchers’ duel through four and a half innings before transforming in a decisive instant. Kim’s blast off Kiwoom reliever Jung Da-hun capped a five-run fifth inning for the Tigers, who sent ten men to the plate to erase a one-run deficit and seize control.

The Heroes had struck first in the fourth inning. With two outs and runners on first and second, catcher Kim Gun-hee drove a double over the head of the center fielder, scoring both An Chi-hong and Park Chan-hyeok to give Kiwoom a 2-1 lead. That hit accounted for two of Kiwoom’s mere three hits on the night.

Kia had scratched across a run in the third on a sacrifice fly by Kim Sun-bin, setting the stage for the fateful bottom of the fifth. Kiwoom starter Won Jong-hyan, who had navigated traffic effectively, began the inning but quickly found trouble. Kim Kyu-sung led off with a single, and after a flyout, Jarryd Dale walked. Won then hit Kim Ho-ryung with a pitch to load the bases, prompting the call to the bullpen for Jung Da-hun.

Jung’s first batter, Kim Sun-bin, delivered a sharp single to center, scoring Kyu-sung to tie the game at 2 and keeping the bases loaded. That brought the 23-year-old third baseman Kim Do-young to the plate. On a 1-1 offering, Kim connected, sending a deep drive to left field that cleared the wall with plenty to spare for a grand slam. The four-run homer, Kim’s first of the season, instantly turned the tense matchup into a 6-2 Kia advantage, electrifying the home crowd.

From there, the Kia bullpen slammed the door, extinguishing any hope of a Kiwoom rally. Starter Yang Hyeon-jong worked five innings, allowing two runs on three hits with three walks and three strikeouts to earn the win. He handed the ball to a relief corps that delivered four perfect innings. Kim Beom-su, Lee Tae-yang and Cho Sang-woo retired all twelve Heroes batters they faced in order, with Cho striking out two in a dominant ninth inning to seal the victory.

Kiwoom’s offensive struggles were pronounced. After Kim Gun-hee’s two-run double in the fourth, only one more Hero reached base—a walk in the second inning—as Kia pitchers retired the final 16 batters consecutively. The Heroes finished with just three hits total.

The loss drops Kiwoom to a league-worst 4-10 on the young Korea Baseball Organization season, continuing a pattern of offensive inconsistency. They had entered the game having won two of their last three, including a shutout victory over the Lotte Giants on Sunday. The Tigers, meanwhile, even their record at 7-7, finding momentum after taking three of four from the Hanwha Eagles over the weekend.

The game’s outcome aligned with pregame projections from Interstat, which gave Kia a 66.2 percent probability to win and projected a 5-3 final score. The combined total of eight runs fell under the posted over/under line of 9.5.

The two teams will meet again Wednesday night in Gwangju for the second game of their three-game series. Kiwoom will look to level the series before heading to Suwon for a weekend set with the KT Wiz. Kia aims for a series win before embarking on a six-game road trip starting Friday against the Doosan Bears in Seoul.