The leading KIA Tigers fell into a quagmire of three consecutive losses in the home turf amid the collapse of the mound. He threw a winning move to operate the bullpen from the beginning of the game, but could not prevent a disastrous defeat.룸알바

KIA lost 6-17 in its fifth game against Kiwoom Heroes in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 28th. After kneeling down to the Lotte Giants from the 26th to the 27th, he bowed his head until the game on the same day.

KIA completely lost the early trend of the game to Kiwoom, as its starting pitcher Lim Ki-young collapsed with five hits, one homer, two walks and five runs (four earned) in the first ⅓. The team made a super-strong effort to put Kim Geon-guk in after one out in the top of the second inning, but Kim Geon-guk also collapsed with six hits, three walks and 10 runs in the first inning.   

Fielders also failed to give strength to pitchers. The situation worsened as Hong Jong-pyo and Kim Do-yeong and Kim Tae-gun made defense errors in the top of the second and third innings. As the team was dragged 0-15 through the top of the third inning, it lost momentum to pursue the team from the beginning. 

Kia has lost three consecutive games, trailing the second-ranked Samsung Lions by 1.5 games, the third-ranked LG Twins by two games, and the fourth-ranked Doosan Bears by 2.5 games. The burden of the last three consecutive games against the Samsung Lions in the first half of the year, which will be held in an away game in Daegu from July 2-4, has also increased.  

KIA's pitching staff fell into a group of difficulties in the last four games of June from the 25th to the 28th. During this period, the team's ERA reached 9.73 with 49 runs (40 earned runs) in 37 innings. Even so, if foreign pitcher Cam Aldred had not recorded a quality start with eight hits, one home run, three walks, four strikeouts and two runs in six innings against Sajik Lotte on the 26th, he could have recorded an ERA of 10 points.

KIA's mound management began to be twisted from the first game of the Gwangju doubleheader against the Hanwha Eagles on the 23rd. Jung Hae-young, who took the mound in the top of the ninth inning with a tight 8-8, allowed a solo home run to Kim Tae-yeon after one out, handing over the lead. Jung Hae-young caught the follow-up hitter Choi Jae-hoon with a fly ball to right field, but complained of abnormal physical conditions in the process of facing Lee Do-yoon after two outs.

The KIA bench replaced Jung Hae-young with Kim Dae-yu to protect its players. Jung was excluded from the entry of the first team as he was diagnosed with inflammation in his right shoulder after a thorough examination the next day. It is not a serious injury, but he failed to play the last nine games of the first half and is preparing to return to the mound in time for the start of the second half on July 9.

KIA not only suffered Jung Hae-young's injury in the double header on the 23rd, but also consumed the power that Choi Ji-min and Jeon Sang-hyun of the must-win group took the mound in both the first and second games. For this reason, KIA manager Lee Bum-ho planned to give Choi Jim-min and Jeon Sang-hyun a break in the match against Lotte on the 25th.

As KIA's batting line exploded on the 25th, it was expected to win when it took a 14-1 lead against Lotte until the top of the fourth inning. Ace James Nail, who was the starting pitcher, was expected to protect the mound enough until the sixth inning.

However, Nail lost six goals in the fourth inning and two goals in the fifth inning, narrowing the score to 14-9. The Kia bench has complicated calculations, as it has refused to deploy Choi Ji-min and Jeon Sang-hyun within the regular innings. 

The KIA bullpen session failed to quell Lotte's strong pursuit. As the team gave up three runs in succession in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings, the score was turned upside down to 14-15. Hong Jong-pyo's timely RBI single in the top of the eighth inning tied the score at 15-15, but the team accepted the result, which was regrettable as it ended up being a draw in the 12th inning of overtime. As Jang Hyun-sik pitched three innings and Choi Ji-min pitched two innings, he would not be able to take the mound on Wednesday.

KIA immediately paid the price of losing its 13-point lead in the game on the 26th. Although the team was leading 4-2 until the sixth inning, only Jeon Sang-hyun was able to be used as a sure winning card, and Jeon had no choice but to save him as much as possible. The game was reversed as he gave up three points in the bottom of the seventh inning and one point in the bottom of the eighth inning when other pitchers were used, and he bowed his head due to an upset loss. 

Lotte also suffered a devastating setback on Tuesday. Starting pitcher Yoon Young-chul was dismissed early for five runs in three ⅔ and Kim Do-hyeon collapsed for five runs in one ⅔. After dedicating the Winning Series to Lotte, he returned to Gwangju amid heavy steps.

The priority for Kia is to sever consecutive losses for now. It is important that Yang Hyeon-jong, the oldest member of the Korean starting lineup, play the role of stopper for consecutive losses, who will take the mound as a starting pitcher on Tuesday.

Yang has won six games, lost three games and a 3.83 ERA in 91 ⅔ innings in 15 games during the 2024 season. Against Kiwoom, Yang became the winning pitcher by pitching seven innings of four hits, one homer, one walk, six strikeouts and two runs.