“Because I thought it was the winner”
KIA Tigers won 10-5 against the Samsung Lions in the 2024 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 17th, winning two consecutive games.
Na Sung-bum contributed the most to Kia’s victory on the day. Na Sung-bum had a hard hit with four RBIs, one walk and one run including a grand slam on the day. Choi Hyung-woo also had multi-hit, three RBIs, two walks and two runs, Socrates multi-hit, and Seo Geon-chang scored a multi-hit.
In addition, starter Yang Hyun-jong collapsed with five runs in 4.2 innings, but KIA’s iron wall bullpen of Kim Dae-yu (0.1 scoreless innings), Lee Hyung-bum (0.2 scoreless innings), Lim Ki-young (1.1 scoreless innings), Kwak Do-kyu (1 scoreless inning), and Jeon Sang-hyun (1 scoreless inning) combined to score no runs and pitched a stable pitch.
Notably, Kia is bringing a new jinx this season. It has shown strong performance against the runner-up. On May 17, Kia dropped NC to third place with a sweep victory over the runner-up NC Dinos, who were trailing by one game.
In mid-June, the team garnered a win over LG in the second place and swept the first three consecutive games in the second half, sending the team to fourth place. If this is the case, the team that came in second place against KIA could have decided to drop out. As such, Kia is strong this season.
After the game, head coach Lee Bum-ho said, “I was able to win with active offense. Socrates played a good role as a leadoff, and Choi Hyung-woo hit a two-run homer in the beginning to create a good atmosphere,” adding, “After allowing a tie, I was able to bring today’s game in a good mood with a walk to push and a decisive grand slam by Na Sung-bum.”
Regarding Yang Hyun-jong’s departure from the mound before completing five innings, he explained, “The reason why I raised Kim Dae-yu in the top of the fifth inning with two outs and runners on the first and second bases was because I thought it was the match of today’s game.” He also praised the bullpen for its strength, saying, “Im Ki-young perfectly blocked 1.1 innings.”
Finally, coach Lee Bum-ho said, “I am grateful that all the players are doing well even though the team is in poor condition (due to injury). I will play a game where I can win with my fans tomorrow as well.” 유흥알바
