The KIA Tigers have won eight straight games. The bats are exploding.
KIA won the 13th game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against SSG Landers 8-6 on Wednesday at SSG Landers Field in Incheon.
After a 10-2 victory on the previous day behind a seven-inning no-hitter by Yang Hyun-jong, rookie left-hander Yoon Young-chul improved to 8-5 on the season with seven hits (one home run), five strikeouts and three runs allowed over five innings.
KIA’s batting order for its seventh straight win was Park Chan-ho (shortstop), Kim Do-young (third base), Na Sung-beom (right field), Choi Hyung-woo (designated hitter), Socrates (left field), Kim Sun-bin (second base), Hwang Dae-in (first base), Kim Tae-gun (catcher), and Choi Won-jun (center field). They aimed to win their eighth straight game.
They scored early on. The first run was scored by KIA. The first run was KIA’s. Leadoff hitter Park Chan-ho drew a walk and stole a base. He moved to third on a wild pitch by SSG starter Oh Won-seok. Kim Do-young followed with a walk. Na Sung-bum hit a grounder in front of the pitcher and Park Chan-ho was caught trying to run home, but Choi Hyung-woo followed with an RBI double to give KIA the lead.
After giving up a solo home run to Choo Shin-soo in the bottom of the first, Hwang Dae-in hit a two-run homer in the top of the second to make it 4-1. Then, in the bottom of the second, Lee Yi-ri hit a three-run homer off Cho Hyung-woo to tie the game.
After scoring a run in the top of the fifth inning, the Tigers came back in the bottom of the fifth. Kim Tae-gun hit a tying single, pinch-hitter Ko Jong-wook hit a game-winning double, and Kim Do-young hit a priceless solo home run.
“I don’t think we’re going to lose,” Kim said after the game, expressing confidence in the team’s recent surge.
KIA has won eight straight games for the first time in two years since 2021 (July 1-August 13). It was their second straight win in exactly 751 days. The batting lineup of Park Chan-ho, Kim Do-young, Na Sung-beom, Choi Hyung-woo, Socrates, and Kim Sun-bin has been hot.
They have scored a whopping 43 runs in their last four games. They took down NC Dinos’ most trusted card, Eric Peddie, in Gwangju last month on the 31st, and then tore up the SSG mound during their three-game series against Incheon over the weekend.안전놀이터
With their firepower, they moved up from fifth to fourth place. They are now 1.5 games behind third-place SSG. The standings could change again during their three-game series next week. It will be interesting to see how long KIA’s upward trend continues.