The NC Dinos of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) jumped into second place in the standings, led by Kim Joo-won’s wedge home run.

NC won 8-1 at home against the Samsung Lions of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Changwon NC Park on Friday.

The third-place NC narrowed the gap to half a game over second-place KT WIZ, which did not play on the day.

The first half of the game was a pitcher’s duel.

NC starter Choi Sung-young and Samsung starter David Buchanan pitched a scoreless fourth inning.

Samsung took the lead in the top of the fifth with an RBI single by Kim Hyun-joon, and NC tied the game in the bottom of the fifth with a sacrifice fly by Kim Joo-won.

In the sixth inning, Kwon Hee-dong hit an RBI single to give NC a 2-1 lead.

After a brief lull, the NC bats exploded again in the eighth inning.

With runners on first and third, Kwon Hee-dong reached on a fielder’s choice with one out, and Do Tae-hoon drew a walk to load the bases.

Seo Ho-cheol followed with a pitcher’s choice infield hit to make the score 4-1.

Kim Joo-won came to the plate and took a six-pitch pitch from Choi Ha-neul for a grand slam over the right field fence.

It was Kim’s 10th home run of the season and his fourth career grand slam.

It was the second consecutive year that Kim, who was named to the Korean National Baseball Team for the Hangzhou Asian Games, reached double-digit home runs.

Since making his professional debut in 2021, he has hit 25 career home runs, four of which have been grand slams, reserving him the title of the future “10,000-run man.

Lee Bum-ho (retired) has the most career home runs in the KBO with 17, while Kang Min-ho (Samsung) is second among active players with 13. 토토