The KIA Tigers have won three consecutive games against the LG Twins in the so-called “Preview Korean Series” and are one step closer to winning the pennant race.
KIA Tigers won 4-0 in the away game of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League against the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 18th.
With the victory, Kia has secured victory in all three consecutive games against the LG Twins, with 68 wins, 46 losses and two draws. Having grabbed four consecutive wins, Kia has maintained a gap of 5.5 games with the second-ranked Samsung.
Kia has been particularly strong against LG this season. It is its third sweep against LG. After winning three consecutive games at home in Gwangju in April, Kia swept all three consecutive games at away games in Jamsil in July. It has swept a total of three games against LG so far this year.
James Nail, the starting pitcher of the Kia Tigers, pitched six innings (a total of 91 pitches) with three hits, one walk and no run to secure his 11th win in this season. Nail has become a joint leader in multiple wins. Kwak Do-gyu (⅓ innings), Jeon Sang-hyun (⅔ innings), Jang Hyun-sik (one inning), and Jeong Hae-young (one inning) followed to secure his team’s victory. In the batting lineup, which had 14 hits in long and short, Lee Chang-jin scored three hits and one run from three times at bat, and Choi Won-joon, Socrates, Lee Woo-sung, and Kim Tae-gun played multi-hit games, respectively.
After the game, “Seungjang” coach Lee Bum-ho said, “We were able to win by combining Nail’s perfect pitching in six innings and efficient hitting,” and added, “Even though Nail took the mound for the second time this week, he defended the opponent’s batters well with powerful pitching. It is encouraging that the starting lineup is running in a stable manner. He pitched well to the bullpen, and we were able to win the game.”
“When hitting, I liked the process of scoring points one by one with each chance. Choi Won-joon knew the importance of scoring the first run and scored the first run with a bunt in the top of the third inning as well. Lee Woo-sung, Kim Tae-gun and Kim Sun-bin also had additional RBIs in a timely manner. Lee Chang-jin also showed good chances by recording three hits in the bottom batting order,” he said, giving compliments to Lee.
Manager Lee said, “I didn’t expect the six consecutive games in Seoul to be easy, but thanks to the good work of the team, including the coaching staff, we were able to finish with 5 wins and 1 loss. Everyone did a great job, and I would like to thank the fans for filling the away cheering seats throughout the six consecutive games.”
With the victory, Kia had an overwhelming advantage against LG with 12 wins and three losses. When asked why they are particularly strong against LG ahead of the match on Wednesday, Lee said, “Actually, we have had difficult games over and over again. As with LG, we had many matches where we were dragged in the beginning but turned the tables against middle pitchers. I think that’s the luck of the game.”
Manager Lee said, “It’s not that different in skills, and I don’t think there were many games that we won one-sidedly from the beginning of the game. I think there will be a difference in the players’ concentration in that regard. LG and Samsung are all teams with strong bullpen. To play such a team well, I think the players’ desire to win in important situations and to get on base at bat was strong. I think that’s why I played well.”
“I am talking well with the players on those issues until the end of the season,” Lee said. “I am doing well, but I still have a lot of games to play. I will check the situation by catching the game where I can win every single game of the season.” 안전놀이터
