Beyond the cleanup trio, there’s no batting order to fall back on as the home runs continue to pour in from the bottom of the order. The KIA Tigers once again focused their firepower to win their first seven games of the season. It was the third straight day of double-digit runs scored, following a 13-3 win over the Gwangju NC Dinos on August 31 and a 10-2 win over the Incheon SSG on September 1.
KIA defeated SSG Landers 12-4 in a regular-season road game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League on Aug. 2 at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Michuhol-gu, Incheon.스포츠토토
The game was played at SSG Landers Field in front of a full house as all 23,000 tickets were sold. It was the sixth game of the season after the opening two-game series against KIA on April 1 and 2, May 13 against the Hanwha Eagles, June 17 against the Lotte Giants, and August 19 against the LG Twins.
The smiling side was the KIA away fans who filled the third base. KIA has won seven straight games to improve to 55 wins, two ties, and 50 losses, extending its lead to 2.5 games over the sixth-place Doosan Bears (54 wins, one tie, 54 losses), who did not play on the same day due to a rainout. KIA’s seven-game winning streak is 753 days long, dating from July 1, 2021 against Gwangju NC to August 10 against Gwangju Hanwha Eagles. Meanwhile, third-place SSG lost its third straight game, dropping its record to 60 wins, one draw and 50 losses.
The deciding game came in the seventh inning when KIA took a 4-3 lead. With runners on first and second in the top of the seventh, Ko Hyo-joon’s slider hit off the bat of Socrates Brito and went into the right-center field fence. The big hit brought in all the runners and gave KIA the lead for good. In the bottom of the seventh, Socrates made up for his poor defense the day before by catching a Choo Shin-soo line drive that went over his head.
KIA starter Yoon Young-cheol earned his eighth win of the season (5-0), allowing three runs on seven hits (one home run) in five innings, striking out five and walking three. The second pitcher, Lim Ki-young, also pitched a perfect game, striking out 19 in 1⅔ innings. At the plate, Socrates went 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs, one run scored and one walk, Na Sung-beom went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs, three runs scored, one walk and one strikeout, and Han Jun-soo went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs, one run scored, one walk and one strikeout. Choi Hyung-woo also chipped in with a multi-hit game.
SSG got no support from starter Moon Seung-won, who gave up four runs on six hits (one home run), three walks (two wild pitches and one hit by pitch) and two strikeouts in 5⅔ innings. Choi Ji-hoon and Kim Sung-hyun each had multi-hit games, but that was it.
September 2 KIA Tigers-SSG Landers Starting Lineup
KIA’s Yoon Young-chul (left) and SSG’s Moon Seung-won. /Photo=Kia Tigers, SSG Landers
Starting with Yoon Young-cheol, KIA’s batting order was Park Chan-ho (shortstop), Kim Do-young (third base), Na Sung-beom (right field), Choi Hyung-woo (designated hitter), Socrates Brito (left field), Kim Sun-bin (second base), Hwang Dae-in (first base), Han Jun-soo (catcher), and Choi Won-joon (center field). SSG, which countered with Moon Seung-won, batted Choo Shin-soo (right fielder), Choi Ji-hoon (center fielder), Choi Jeong (third baseman),메이저사이트 Guillermo Heredia (designated hitter), Ha Jae-hoon (left fielder), Park Sung-sung (shortstop), Oh Tae-gon (first baseman), Kim Sung-hyun (second baseman), and Lee Heung-ryun (catcher).
KIA left-handed rookie Yoon Young-cheol will make his fourth start against SSG. He is 1-1 with a 3.50 ERA in three games and earned the win on July 5 at SSG Landers Field in Incheon with six innings of two-run ball. He will form a battery with Han Jun-soo, who has been working well together. Before the game, KIA manager Kim Jong-kook said, “Yoon Young-chul has been working well with Han Jun-soo. We need to manage Kim Tae-gun’s physical condition and Han Joon-soo needs to increase his playing time, so we decided to do that.” “Yoon Young-chul will adjust according to the situation, whether it’s innings or pitches. In the last game (Aug. 27 against Hanwha), it was a high-profile game, so I think it took a lot of energy. If he doesn’t get greedy, I think he will pitch much better.”
Moon Seung-won will be making his second start since returning to the lineup. He struggled against the Doosan Bears on March 27, giving up four runs in three innings, and will be hoping to go the distance this time around. He has yet to give up a run against KIA this season, with one win, one loss, one save, and an ERA of 0 in three games. SSG manager Kim Won-hyung said, “We had bullpen depletion this week, so it would be nice if Moon Seung-won could pitch as many innings as possible. Six innings would be great, but I think he did his job even if he only pitched five innings.” “The offense hasn’t been hitting well lately, even with middle relief pitchers. To put it more bluntly, the batsmen need to step up. I will pray that they will hit well today.”
A six-hit, six RBI outburst in the KIA cleanup, including a two-hit homer by backup catcher Han Jun-soo… KIA’s 7-game winning streak continues
Choi Hyung-woo hits a single to right field with runners on first and second in the first inning against SSG in Incheon on Jan. 1./Photo=KIA Tigers
Han Jun-soo draws a two-run arch to right field with no outs in the second inning against SSG in Incheon on April 1. /Photo=KIA Tigers
The KIA bats pounded the SSG mound from the outset. In the top of the first inning, Kim Do-young and Na Sung-beom drew back-to-back walks. Choi Hyung-woo led off the inning with a full-count double down the right field line. Socrates’ sacrifice fly to right field scored another run and gave KIA a 2-0 lead. In the second inning, the bottom of the order exploded. Hwang Dae-in led off with a walk and Han Jun-soo drove a 142-kilometer-per-hour fastball from Moon Seung-won over the right field fence for a towering two-run arch. It was his second home run of the season with a distance of 115 meters. Han Jun-soo, who hit his first home run on July 5 against SSG in Incheon, also hit his second home run in Incheon.
SSG fought back. In the bottom of the third inning, Kim Sung-hyun singled up the middle and Lee Heung-yeon took a 137-kilometer-per-hour fastball from Yoon Young-chul for a two-run shot to left field that traveled 105 meters. It was the first home run of the season and the first in 685 days since October 17, 2021 against Sajik Lotte. Choi Ji-hoon followed with a single up the middle and stole second base, but Heredia grounded out to end the inning. But once again, Kim Sung-hyun came through. In the fourth inning, Yoon Young-chul drew a walk to Park Chan-ho and Kim Do-young to load the bases. But Oh Tae-gon singled up the middle, stole second on a wild pitch, and Kim Sung-hyun followed with a single to left. SSG’s 3-4 chase.
After a scoreless fifth inning, Yoon earned the win with five innings, seven hits (one home run), no walks, five strikeouts and three runs. He threw 71 pitches (31 sliders, 20 fastballs, 13 changeups, and 7 curves) and topped out at 140 kilometers per hour. Despite his early success, he was unable to overcome SSG’s bottom of the order and failed to complete six innings for the fourth straight game.
Moon was able to finish the game without allowing another run thanks to a fantastic catch by shortstop Park Sung-han. Moon was replaced by Ko Hyo-joon in the top of the sixth inning after giving up back-to-back singles to Socrates and Kim Sun-bin and getting Hwang Dae-in to fly out to right field. Han Jun-soo drew a walk to load the bases for SSG. Choi Won-joon’s pitch deflected off the glove of Go Hyo-joon. Park Sung Sung instinctively caught the ball going in the opposite direction of his path and threw to second base to get the runner at first base.
Moon would go on to allow four runs on six hits (one home run), three walks (two batted balls and one hit by pitch), and two strikeouts in 5⅔ innings. He threw 103 pitches (51 fastballs, 28 sliders, 12 curves, 11 forks, and one changeup) and topped out at 150 miles per hour.
Socrates Brito delivers a hit in the first inning against the SSG in Incheon. /Photo=KIA Tigers
Na Sung-beom comes to the dugout after hitting a two-run shot to center field in the top of the eighth inning against SSG in Incheon on April 2. /Photo=KIA Tigers
However, SSG was unable to stop the KIA offense in the end. In the top of the seventh, Na Sung-bum led off with a single to left and Socrates followed with a two-run double to right-center field. SSG later switched to Lee Eun-wook on the mound, but he gave up a walk to Kim Sun-bin and an RBI single to right field to Ko Jong-wook, making the score 7-3.
In the eighth inning, Na Sung-beom ended SSG’s chances with a home run for the second straight game. With Kim Do-young on second and one out, Na took a 145-kilometer-per-hour fastball from Jung Sung-gon for a two-run shot to center field. It was his 14th home run of the season with a distance of 130 meters.
KIA showed off its firepower with a pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning. With no outs and runners on first and second after Socrates walked and Kim Sun-bin singled to left, Oh Sun-woo drove a seven-pitch fastball from Kim Joo-han over the left-field fence for a three-run arch. It was the first home run of the season and the first in 1098 days since August 30, 2020, against the KT Wiz.
SSG scored a run in the bottom of the eighth on back-to-back singles by Eredia and Ha Jae-hoon, but could not overturn the deficit.
