KIA Byun Woo-hyuk's come-from-behind hit → Final hit One Man Show! 3 mistakes + Another Collapsed Jung Chul-won put Lotte to sleep...The defending champion's roar.

Apr 08, 2025

KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 8th, and KIA Kim Tae-gun is happy to hit an RBI timely hit in the top of the 8th inning with one out and runners on the first and second bases. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.04.08/

The game between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 8th, and KIA Byun Woo-hyuk, with one out and second base, is happy to hit an RBI comeback in the top of the 8th inning. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.04.08/

The game between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 8th, and Lotte Jung Chul-won, with one out and runners on the first and second bases, is regretful after giving up a timely RBI to KIA Kim Tae-gun in the top of the 8th inning. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.04.08/

The team that kneels down due to fierce knife-edge competition and tension loses. It was even a showdown where 'No-Hitter Game' came and went.

The KIA Tigers won the first game of the week-on-week series against the KIA Tigers 5-4 at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 8th, breaking their recent two-game losing streak.

On weekdays, 14,038 baseball fans visited the site in the wake of the spring weather. With the victory, KIA, which had been at the bottom due to the injury of Kim Do-young and Kim Sun-bin at the beginning of the season and poor bullpen, recorded its fifth win (eight losses) and was cheered by away fans who filled the infield seats at third base.

On the other hand, Lotte suffered a come-from-behind loss of 12-15 against Sajik Doosan on the 6th, followed by the so-called '406 Battle of Sajik. Concerns over Jeong Cheol-won, a must-win group, have also grown.

KIA Tigers manager Lee Bum-ho said of MVP Kim Do-young's recovery, `It's already more than 90 percent, and he's doing technical training. However, we plan to discuss whether to play after the training team clearly gets OK. To return to the first team, you must first play the Futures game. Training and competition are completely different, so the rehabilitation part has to make a good judgment", he explained.

KIA starter Kim Do-hyun is pitching hard in a game between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 8th. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.04.08/

There is no such thing as being a defending champion. It's also hard to come up with the best nine lineup. I've been preparing for the players' injuries, but I'm just preparing to win day by day."

KIA played in the lineup of Park Chan-ho (striker), Wisdom (first base), Na Sung-bum (right wing), Choi Hyung-woo (designated hitter), Lee Woo-sung (left wing), Byun Woo-hyuk (third base), Choi Won-joon (middle fielder), Kim Tae-gun (catcher) and Kim Kyu-sung (second base). Kim Do-hyun is the first choice.

Lotte, which eliminated Yoon Dong-hee from the first division the previous day, changed its mood by registering the late Seung-min, Hwang Sung-bin, and Park Seung-wook. Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung, who met before the game, was upset about the 406 battle, saying, `I missed the timing to replace the pitcher.' Still, about rookie Park Se-hyun, who gave up a come-from-behind shot, "I threw well with confidence." There was strength in the ball."

Lotte Kim Jin-wook is leaving the mound at the top of the 6th inning in a game between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 8th. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.04.08/

On this day, Lotte faced off with the lineup of Hwang Sung-bin (center fielder), Jung Hoon (first base), Reyes (right wing), Jeon Joon-woo (left wing), Kim Min-sung (second base), Yoo Kang-nam (fosu), Ko Seung-min (designated hitter), Jeon Min-jae (third base), and Park Seung-wook (fighter). The starting pitcher is Kim Jin-wook.

Lotte had a good initial momentum. Starting pitcher Kim Jin-wook tied the KIA lineup with a no-hitter (one mistake, one walk) until the fifth inning.

KIA starter Kim Do-hyun also pitched hard. Lotte scored the first run in the bottom of the second inning when Kim Do-hyun threw a wild pitch with one out and runners on the first and third bases, but failed to score an additional run despite consecutive doubles in the third and fourth innings. Still, Hwang Sung-bin, who got on base with a hit in the bottom of the fifth inning, advanced to third base taking advantage of the opponent's check error, and led 2-0 due to Reyes' timely hit.

The game between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 8th, and Lotte Reyes, with two outs and runners on second base, are happy to hit the equalizer in the bottom of the seventh inning. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.04.08/

But the game turned upside down in an instant. In the sixth inning, when Kim Jin-wook's no-hit was broken, KIA turned the game around by winning three points at once. After one out, Park Chan-ho walked to get on base, and Wisdom hit KIA's first hit on the day, one out and runners on first and second bases. He caught Na Sung-bum with a fly ball to shortstop and breathed a sigh, but Choi Hyung-woo's hit became the deepest infield hit between the first and second bases, with two outs and bases loaded.

Kim Jin-wook left the mound with one out count. The result was a handshake. After giving up Lee Woo-sung a straight walk, Park Jin allowed Byun Woo-hyuk to turn the tables after a two-run timely hit. Kim Jin-wook's victory flew away, and the record was also changed to three runs in five ⅔ innings.

However, KIA Kim Do-hyun was also not destined to become a winning pitcher. Lotte's Hwang Sung-bin, who walked in the bottom of the seventh inning, stole second base after two outs, and Reyes hit a timely hit against KIA's must-win group Cho Sang-woo to bring the game to square one.

From Lotte's point of view, Jung Chul-won's input in the top of the eighth inning was an inevitable and natural choice. However, Jung Cheol-won collapsed again following the game against Doosan two days ago and became a losing pitcher.

The game between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 8th, and KIA Byun Woo-hyuk, with one out and second base, hits an RBI comeback in the top of the 8th inning. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.04.08/

Choi Hyung-woo, the first batter, was allowed a double to left-center. KIA bench put pinch runner Park Jae-hyun in the game. The second pinch hitter Park Jung-woo ended up with a fly ball, but the hero of the day, Byun Woo-hyuk, again hit a timely hit for three days and called in Park Jae-hyun. KIA widened the gap to 5-3 by adding one point with Kim Tae-gun's timely hit following Choi Won-joon's walk.

Lotte also got on base with a hit against KIA's must-win group Jeon Sang-hyun in the bottom of the eighth inning, and Jeon Min-jae hit a double to left-center to follow by 4-5, one point difference. However, KIA Kwak Do-kyu held the lead by catching Lee Ho-joon. Then, Jung Hae-young finished the game without losing a point in the bottom of the ninth inning.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.