The KIA Tigers’ chances of reaching the Top 5 are looking increasingly slim. Fifth-placed SSG Landers rebounded with four straight wins to close the gap to three games. KIA now has just 10 games left to play. Kia coach Kim Jong-kook made a gamble by resting “big pitcher” Yang Hyun-jong after four days of rest. Yang Hyun-jong is back in contention to win 10 games for the ninth consecutive year.
KIA split a doubleheader with the Suwon KT WIZ on Oct. 4. KIA remained in sixth place in the league with 66 wins, one draw and 66 losses on the season.
On that day, KIA sent Thomas Panoy and Mario Sanchez to the mound for the first and second games of the doubleheader, respectively, looking for a sweep.
Game 1 went as well as the KIA bench could have hoped. The team’s bats pounded the KT mound with 13 hits, eight walks and 10 runs as KIA starter Pannoni threw six innings of 100 pitches, allowing one run on four hits with two strikeouts and four walks.
Five batters had multi-hit games, including Park Chan-ho (2 hits, 1 RBI, 2 runs), Kim Do-young (2 hits, 1 home run, 2 RBI, 2 runs), Socrates (3 hits, 2 RBI, 2 runs), Lee Woo-sung (2 hits, 1 RBI, 1 run), and Ko Jong-wook (2 hits, 2 RBI, 1 run).
With a five-run big inning in the top of the sixth, KIA took a commanding 10-2 win in game one of the doubleheader.
Carrying the momentum of their Game 1 victory into Game 2, KIA had a difficult start to the game as they struggled to get anything going against their alternate starter, Lee Sun-woo.
KIA fell behind 0-3 after Sanchez gave up back-to-back runs in the bottom of the first and third innings.
The team’s bats battled back in the top of the fourth inning. After a solo home run by leadoff hitter Socrates in the top of the fourth inning, Kim Seok-hwan hit a grounder to put runners on first and third with no outs. However, KIA missed the chance to tie the game with a bases-loaded walk to Han Joon-soo.토토사이트
KIA was unable to score any more runs and had to settle for a 2-3 loss.
KIA announced Yang Hyun-jong as the starting pitcher for the game against Suwon KT on Friday. Yang Hyun-jong made his first start on September 30 against the SSG Landers in Munhak, allowing three runs on eight hits (one home run) with two strikeouts in 6.1 innings. It was the win they needed to reach 10 wins for the ninth straight year, but despite the quality start, Yang fell short of his eighth win of the season.
Speaking to reporters before the game against Suwon KT on March 3, manager Kim Jong-kook said, “We need to make a substitution in the fifth game, but we’re keeping the situation open and thinking about it.” Ultimately, Kim was concerned about Yang Hyun-jong’s start after four days of rest. Yang’s decision to pitch on four days’ rest could mean three more starts for the rest of the season.
After a five-day start, Yang could take the mound again on four days’ rest on Tuesday against the Gwangju SSG Landers. He could then take the mound for the final game of the regular season (likely on Oct. 16) on either four or five days’ rest. That would give him a chance to win 10 games for the ninth straight year. It will be interesting to see if Han’s gameplan works and Yang’s ninth consecutive 10-win season is dramatic.