Cohesion+Bee Swarm Mound+Mercenary Skills… KIA, who had everything, won 8 consecutive games in 751 days with a bang!
The KIA Tigers were looking to extend their winning streak and the SSG Landers were desperate to end their losing streak.
The final game of the three-game weekend series between the two teams at the Incheon Landers on the 3rd was literally a bloodbath. The teams went back and forth in a back-and-forth affair until a mid-game comeback. With all 23,000 seats filled, Landers Field was a cauldron of excitement.
The bench battle reached its climax in the top of the eighth inning. With a 1-4 deficit and a one-run lead thanks to Cho Hyung-woo’s tying triple in the bottom of the inning and Choi Jeong’s game-winning double in the bottom of the fifth, SSG brought in closer Seo Jin-yong early after the third pitcher, Ko Hyo-joon, gave up a single to Kim Sun-bin. The pressure was on him to get five outs, but the closer’s role as the back door man was crucial to the team’s chances of escaping the losing streak.
With Seo Jin-yong on the mound, the KIA bench removed Kim Sun-bin and brought in Choi Jung-yong as a pinch-hitter. After Hwang Dae-in singled to left, Lee Chang-jin was brought in to pinch-hit. With two quick runners on base, they looked to tie the game or take the lead. Kim Tae-gun singled up the middle, bringing home Choi Jung-yong to tie the game at 6-6.
With runners on first and second, KIA manager Kim Jong-kook substituted Choi Won-joon for Go Jong-wook, who had come in as a pinch hitter in the top of the seventh inning against SSG a day earlier and hit a game-winning single to left field. Seo Jin-yong, who recorded his first blown save in his 51st appearance and 35th save situation when he gave up a run in the ninth inning against Doosan in Jamsil on March 27, had to shake his head again after a week.메이저놀이터
KIA opted to utilize its bullpen early, replacing starter Lee Yi-ri after three innings, who had previously taken 10 days off due to shoulder inflammation. Park Jun-pyo gave up a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning, but Kim Dae-yu, Jang Hyun-sik, Choi Ji-min, and Im Ki-young shut down the SSG bats without allowing an earned run to secure the thrilling victory. In the top of the ninth inning, Kim Do-young blasted a three-run homer to give KIA an 8-6 victory over SSG. Eight straight wins and a leap to fourth place after 751 days since the last game against SSG in Incheon on August 13, 2021.
It was KIA’s eighth straight win thanks to its batting cohesion, beehive mound, and mercenary skills.