By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- The Lotte Giants defeated the Doosan Bears 7-4 in the final regular-season game at the iconic Jamsil Baseball Stadium on Monday, as their All-Star Victor Reyes established a new league hits record.
Reyes went 4-for-5 with a home run to finish the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) campaign with 211 hits, shattering his own previous mark of 202.
Choi Won-jun of the KT Wiz got to No. 203 just ahead of Reyes last Wednesday, but Reyes ended up with three more hits than Choi, who recorded three hits Monday night to finish with 208.
Victor Reyes of the Lotte Giants rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Doosan Bears during the clubs' Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 12, 2026. (Yonhap)
Other than Reyes' record chase, this was a largely meaningless game for both sides. The Bears had long clinched fifth place and a trip to the wild card round scheduled for Wednesday. Their primary goal was to leave Monday's game in one piece for more meaningful games coming up this month.
The Giants were in eighth place entering this game with a win-loss-tie record of 63-77-3, and a win lifted them to seventh place, ahead of the NC Dinos. The Bears finished at 73-66-5.
Han Dong-hee smacked a two-run home run in the top of the first inning to put the Giants up 2-0, but the visiting team lost the lead right away in the bottom first.
With the bases loaded, first baseman Na Seung-yeup fielded a chopper hit by An Jae-seok but threw the ball well over the head of the starting pitcher Park Se-woong, who was covering the first base bag on the play. The error allowed two Bears runners to come home to tie the game at 2-2.
The Giants used another long ball to go ahead 3-2, this time a solo shot by Son Seong-bin to lead off the top of the second.
Fans watch a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game between the Lotte Giants and the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 12, 2026. (Yonhap)
The Giants tagged on two more runs in that inning, courtesy of RBI hits by Reyes and Na.
The Bears got a run back in the bottom third thanks to An Jae-seok's run-scoring double but Reyes restored a three-run lead for the Giants at 6-3 with a solo shot in the top sixth.
Yang Suk-hwan drove in the Bears' fourth run with a double in the bottom seventh, but Hwang Seong-bin made it a 7-4 game for the Giants with a single in the eighth.
The Bears used 11 pitchers, with no one going more than one inning, as manager Kim Won-hyong got his last in-game look at his bullpen arms before the postseason.
Jamsil, which has been regarded as the mecca of South Korean baseball since it opened in 1982, will be demolished after this season to make room for a new dome.
jeeho@yna.co.kr
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