Kim Hyun-soo hits third home run in as many games

Kim Hyun-soo of the LG Twins rounds the bases after going deep in the 11th inning of a game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

LG Twins slugger Kim Hyun-soo hit his third home run of the fledgling 2022 KBO season on Thursday, going deep for the third right in a row as the Twins beat the Kiwoom Heroes 6-0.

Kim, the 34-year-old talismanic leader of a resurgent Twins squad, knocked the ball over the right field fence at the top of the fifth inning on Thursday, sending it deep enough to bounce off the exterior wall at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul.

Thursday's home run landed meters away from Wednesday's effort, a game-winning homer to break a tie at the top of the 11th inning that gave LG a 2-1 win in their closest game of the season.

On Tuesday, Kim hit a three-run homer into the same section of the stands at the top of the ninth inning to round off an 8-4 win over the Heroes. That game also took Kim to 1,000 career runs in the KBO, making him the 19th player in league history every to hit the milestone.

Those three home runs this early in the season are enough to see Kim lead the KBO in that category.

Kim and the Twins have got off to a flying start to the 2022 season, winning five straight games to tie for first place with the SSG Landers as of press time Friday.

The explosive start could signal that the Twins' year has finally come — despite being one of the six founding KBO teams, the Seoul club hasn't one a Korean Series since 1994.

Things are starting to look up, however, with the Twins becoming playoff regulars for the last 10 years. The arrival of former major leaguer Kim a few years back helped to boost that slow resurgence, and the Twins re-signed the old slugger during the offseason.

As of press time Friday, Kim is batting .333 this season, with seven hits, four runs, six RBIs and three home runs. His career line in the KBO includes 1,950 hits, 1,002 runs, 1,175 RBIs and 215 home runs for a .319 batting average.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]