The Kiwoom Heroes broke a five-game losing streak.
Kiwoom beat the KT Wiz 3-1 on the road at Suwon KT Wiz Park on Sept. 19, 2026, with solo homers by Park Joo-hong and Chu Jae-hyun and a scoreless strong start from starter Ha Young-min that led the team to victory.
That day Kiwoom set its lineup in order as Lee Joo-hyung (center field), Park Joo-hong (left field), Ahn Chi-hong (second base), Brooks (first base), Chu Jae-hyun (right field), Choi Joo-hwan (designated hitter), Kim Dong-heon (catcher), Kim Ji-seok (third base) and Song Ji-hoo (shortstop). Chu Jae-hyun, who was promoted to the first team that day, was immediately inserted into the game.
KT set its lineup in order as Choi Won-joon (right field), Kim Sang-su (second base), Kim Hyun-soo (first base), Jang Sung-woo (designated hitter), Healyard (left field), Bae Jung-dae (center field), Jang Jun-won (third base), Han Seung-taek (catcher) and Lee Kang-min (shortstop).
On the last day of the three-game weekend series, KT starter Ko Young-pyo allowed two runs but went six innings for a quality start. He rebounded from a poor outing on Sept. 14 against the NC Dinos, when he allowed 12 hits (one home run), two walks, two strikeouts and seven runs in four innings. Before the game, manager Lee Kang-chul said, "I hope he clears his mind and plays," and he showed a different look.
Ko Young-pyo, who had been strong against Kiwoom with four starts last year, going 2-1 with a 1.61 earned run average, did his part as the starting pitcher that day. But the lineup was silent.
Kiwoom starter Ha Young-min shut down KT's hitters. In the bottom of the first, Ha Young-min retired Choi Won-joon on a fly to center, Kim Sang-su on a line out to first and Kim Hyun-soo on a grounder to second. In the second, he induced Jang Sung-woo into a grounder to short, Healyard into a fly to right and struck out Bae Jung-dae.
In the third, he retired the leadoff batter Jang Jun-won on a fly to right and struck out Han Seung-taek and Lee Kang-min consecutively to carry a perfect game through three innings. In the fourth, he gave up a double to center-right to leadoff batter Choi Won-joon. He then issued a walk to Kim Sang-su and seemed rattled. But he induced Kim Hyun-soo into a fly to center and Jang Sung-woo into a grounder to second for a double play to escape the jam.
The perfect game was broken, but Ha Young-min continued his scoreless pitching. In the fifth, with one out and no runners, he gave up a single to center and a steal to Bae Jung-dae, creating a scoring threat, but he then got Jang Jun-won to fly out to left and struck out Han Seung-taek to breathe easier.
In the sixth, he got the leadoff batter Lee Jung-hoon to ground out to second and gave up a double down the right-field line to Choi Won-joon. A right-field error put runners at first and third with no outs. But he induced Kim Sang-su into a grounder to third and Kim Hyun-soo into a foul pop to the catcher to get out of the inning without allowing a run. Ha Young-min, who came back out in the seventh, got Jang Sung-woo to ground to third, struck out Healyard on a swing and got Bae Jung-dae to fly out to center.
Ha Young-min's strong pitching was backed by the hitters. Tied 0-0 in the fourth, Park Joo-hong hit a solo homer off KT starter Ko Young-pyo to put his team ahead.
In the sixth, with two outs and no runners, Chu Jae-hyun targeted Ko Young-pyo's sixth pitch, a changeup, and hit a solo homer over the right-field wall. It was Chu Jae-hyun's first homer of the season since being registered to the first team that day.
In the seventh, Kim Dong-heon drew a walk from reliever Kim Min-soo. A sacrifice bunt by Kim Ji-seok moved the runners to first and second with one out. After Song Ji-hoo was retired on a grounder to short, Lee Joo-hyung delivered an RBI double to center-right, and Kiwoom went up 3-0.
Kiwoom preserved the lead by bringing in Park Jung-woong, Yuto and Kim Jae-ung after Ha Young-min. Park Jung-woong faced a bases-loaded jam in the eighth, but Yuto came in to relieve and struck out Kim Hyun-soo swinging to escape the danger.
In the ninth, Kim Jae-ung walked Jang Sung-woo and gave up a double to Healyard to put runners at second and third with no outs. He induced Bae Jung-dae into a grounder to third and got Jang Jun-won to ground out to short, but allowed one run in the process before getting Kang Hyun-woo to fly out to right to end the game.
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