A legion of tigers with “K.O.” punches on the twins immediately encounters the “natural enemy” giant. The Kia Tigers, who also scolded the runner-up for the second place, want to secure a 76.5 percent chance of winning the regular season with 70 wins in the season against the Lotte Giants.
KIA had maintained its overwhelming lead by sweeping all three away games against the LG Twins last weekend, which was considered the biggest showdown in the regular season. Had Kia lost to LG, the gap between the two teams could have narrowed to just one game. However, the opposing result widened the gap between the two teams to a whopping seven games. LG also lost its second place to the Samsung Lions.
The driving force behind KIA’s sweep over the weekend was its dramatic come-from-behind victory in its first showdown on Aug. 16. Kia, which had been chased by rival starting pitcher Choi Won-tae, was trailing 0-2 before its attack in the top of the ninth inning. However, Kia’s leadoff hitter Choi Won-joon walked to get on the base after a dogged game in the top of the ninth inning, saving hope. Kim Do-young then stirred up the spark with an RBI double that separated the left-center field.
And in the ensuing opportunity with one out and third base, “Captain” Na Sung-bum turned the game around with a thrilling come-from-behind two-run home run that destroyed opposing closer Yoo Young-chan. KIA bench trusted Na Sung-bum, who recently suffered a rather long slump in the central lineup, and Na Sung-bum hit a decisive home run to repay that belief.
The dramatic come-from-behind victory in the first game also affected the remaining two games. In their showdowns on Wednesday, Kia succeeded in scoring nine runs and in a big inning, including Kim Do-young’s grand slam, at the top of the sixth inning alone. Kia, which completely destroyed the LG mound by scoring 16 hits, eight walks and 14 points, secured its winnings series early on with a 14-4 victory.
Kia, which aimed to secure a sweep, beat LG Twins perfectly with a perfect 6 innings pitched by starting pitcher Nail and a 4-0 team shutout. Ahead of the weekend series, Kia’s manager Lee Bum-ho said, “We will continue to manage the game at our own pace without adjusting the starting rotation in time for the game against LG.” As Lee wished, Kia succeeded in sweep wining the series against LG without significant bleeding. Kia has displayed overwhelming strength with 12 wins and 3 losses against LG this season. 먹튀검증
Kia, which returned to Gwangju after six consecutive games in the Seoul metropolitan area, will now meet its natural enemy Lotte. KIA had the lowest winning rate among other teams with three wins, one draw and seven losses in the game against Lotte this season. One of the most impressive games in the KBO League this season is the Kia-Lotte match on June 25, which started at 14-1 and ended in a 15-15 draw.
The situation of Kia’s game was twisted when it met Lotte this season. KIA’s batting average was 4.4 points per game on average against Lotte in this season, showing the lowest performance of offense. KIA’s mound also recorded 6.7 points per game against Lotte, making it the second worst performance after Doosan Bears (6.9 points per game). This season is not in good shape with Lotte.
KIA will have its native starting trio Hwang Dong-ha, Yang Hyun-jong and Kim Do-hyun on the mound in this three consecutive home games against Lotte. Lotte’s starting rotation is expected to be Kim Jin-wook, Park Se-woong, and Barnes. If KIA achieves the winning series this week in the series, it will be able to succeed in its 70th win for the season on a first-come, first-served basis. The team with 70 wins for the season has a 76.5 percent chance of winning the regular season (26 wins out of 34). Attention is focusing on whether Kia will overcome its “natural enemy” with Lotte to reach the eighth ridge of its regular season championship.
