“Only 1 QS out of 10G” KIA starter collapsed again…Crushed on Bear Bulbang Bat.
A shaky starting rotation is affecting the entire Kia Tigers organization.
The Tigers faced the Doosan Bears at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on April 18 and were trailing 0-8 going into the seventh inning, meaning a fifth straight loss is likely.
They’re barely holding on to fifth place thanks to a tiebreaker with SSG Landers, but they’ve lost the momentum they once had as high as third. The absence of Mario Sanchez has left a huge void, but the existing starters such as Yang Hyun-jong, Yoon Young-cheol, and Lee Yi-ri have also struggled.
The team is in danger of losing five straight games in front of its home fans, starting with the Gwangju Samsung on April 12. Only Panoni and Yang Hyun-jong have gone more than five innings among KIA starters during this stretch. No one has had a quality start (6+ innings, 3 earned runs or less).
To find a quality start, you have to go back 10 games. Yang Hyun-jong (6 innings, 2 runs) against Doosan in Jamsil on July 7 was KIA’s last QS.토토사이트
From Lim Ki-young to Jang Hyun-sik to Choi Ji-min, even the bullpen is faltering as the load piles up. And the results are showing in their record. A loss today would drop KIA to 3-7 in their last 10 games.
Hwang Dong-ha has earned the trust of Kia head coach Kim Jong-kook after allowing three runs in 4⅔ innings and two runs in 4⅓ innings in his last two starts. Kim said, “When Hwang Dong-ha pitches like that, it’s really good. If he throws more than four innings today, it will be a good game to try.”
However, Hwang gave up seven runs in the third inning. In the top of the first, Jung Soo-bin singled, Rojas doubled, and Yang Seok-hwan grounded into an infield single. The Tigers survived the ensuing two-out rally without a run.
The 2023 KBO League game between the KIA Tigers and LG Twins was held at Gwangju KIA Champions Field on Sept. 9. KIA’s Lee Yi-ri laments a bad hit by LG’s Kim Hyun-soo in the top of the second inning.
But in the top of the third inning, the Bears’ fire bats pummeled Hwang Dong-ha. Leadoff hitter Cho Su-hyun led off with a single and was followed by a wild pitch to put runners on first and second. Doosan Rojas hits Hwang Dong-ha’s 140-kilometer fastball over the right field fence. It traveled 115 meters.
It wasn’t the end. Yang Suk-hwan followed with a single and Yang Ji “Head Bear” Yang followed with a two-run double. Kang Seung-ho gave up back-to-back singles to Kim In-tae, and two batters later, Cho Su-hyun singled to score the seventh run. KIA replaced Kim Seung-hyun on the mound after the top of the third inning.
With three losses, the hell of an eight-game series without a day off began, and a second straight loss became a possibility. Can KIA defend their top five spot?
The 2023 KBO League match between the KIA Tigers and Samsung Lions was held at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 19th. KIA’s Sanchez heads to the dugout after completing his defense in the second inning.
KIA had hoped that Sanchez, who has completed his injury rehabilitation, would return to the starting lineup on Nov. 21. However, with Lee returning to the national team for the Hangzhou Asian Games on the same day, Kia will need to find a replacement.
The short-term solution is pitching. Last year, after losing the first round of the wild card last year and ending fall baseball with just one game, KIA proclaimed, “This year is different.” The cloud of a nine-game QS failure has darkened the outlook for fall baseball, let alone the postseason.