adminNot even the strongest starting lineup can stop them.
The KIA Tigers have been on a winning streak since the fall. On the 3rd, they battled SSG Landers in Incheon and came from behind to win 8-6. The process of securing the victory captured the mood of their recent collapse. Hwang Dae-in’s two-run blast gave the team a 4-1 lead, but a three-run homer by Cho Hyung-woo tied the game at 4-4. They took the lead again at 5-4, but Choi Jung hit a two-run homer to cut the lead to 5-6.
It looked like the game was over, but Ko Jong-wook’s game-winning hit in the top of the eighth and Kim Do-young’s walk-off solo shot in the top of the ninth secured the win. In the bottom of the ninth, closer Jung Hae-young secured the win with three clean outs in the first inning. The sweep of the three-game weekend series extended Pajuk’s winning streak to eight games. They are now in fourth place, 1.5 games behind third-place SSG.
It was a great showcase of the strength and cohesion of a batting lineup that has been dominating the league lately. The KIA bats were far from hot and cohesive in July. On a monthly basis, they were fourth in team batting average (.277) and third in team runs scored (86). However, in August, the team batted .321, led the league in runs scored (1) and hits (246), and continued to explode in September.
He had seven games with double-digit hits during an eight-game winning streak. During that stretch, the team went 5-for-9 with the long ball, including 10 home runs, two triples, and 19 doubles. The team is also 3-for-9 with the most walks. During the eight-game winning streak, the team has a .918 OPS. This is by far the best. They are dominating their opponents with the bat.
They have an ideal mix of table-setters, cleanup trio, bottom of the order, and backup bats. Leadoff hitter Park Chan-ho has been on fire, going 3-for-8 with two doubles, eight RBIs, nine runs, and seven stolen bases. Kim Do-young, the No. 2 hitter, is also hitting 3-for-1 with five RBIs, 17 runs scored, and three stolen bases. The two players have been harassing opposing batters with their stolen bases, creating opportunities for hitting.
The center field lineup with Bapsang has shown the ability to solve problems. Na Sung-beom, the No. 3 hitter, showed off a dominant batting lineup with 3-for-8, two doubles, three home runs, 12 RBIs, nine runs scored, and a 1.167 OPS. Choi Hyung-woo, the No. 4 hitter, went 4-for-4 with one home run, 11 RBIs, six runs scored, and an OPS of 1.108. He also led the team in doubles with Na and Sung-bum. Socrates backs him up with a 2-for-9 performance with one home run, seven RBIs, and seven runs scored.
The bottom of the order also did a good job of cleaning up and creating chances for the leadoff lineup. Kim Sun-bin went 3-for-1 with four RBIs and two runs scored, while catcher Kim Tae-gun went 3-for-4 with five RBIs and three runs scored. In addition, Hwang Dae-in, who recently returned to the team, hit a home run and Byun Woo-hyuk contributed with a triple. Pitchers Ko Jong-wook and Lee Chang-jin also added sharpness with triples, and catcher Han Joon-soo has a home run and RBI. Manager Kim Jong-kook has also used timely substitutions to improve his hitting percentage.
The power of KIA’s bats has also been evident against opposing pitchers. At the start of the streak, on August 24 against the KT Wiz, they scored four runs against Kim Jae-yoon, a reliever with a one-to-one ERA, to lead a dramatic comeback. In the three-game series against Hanwha in Gwangju on August 25-27, the team took down Hanwha’s 1-3 starters to complete the sweep.
In Gwangju on August 31, the team scored seven runs in three innings against the NC Dinos’ top starter, Eric Peddie, who had a one-run ERA. The offense hadn’t scored a run in 14 innings in the previous two games. With the confidence they gained from shutting down Pedi, they also swept the three-game weekend series in Literature with their hot hitting. In the third game of the series, they were able to take advantage of the one-run closer Seo Jin-yong.메이저사이트
The bats are coming alive and the strong bullpen is making up for the relatively weak starting lineup. Hitting goes in cycles, and at some point, the offense will fall back into a downward spiral and hit a rough patch. But for now, the KIA bats are treading water, as Kim Do-young said, “even if we’re losing, we don’t look like we’re losing.” This is the batting lineup that is making the myth of the fall.