Kia's bullpen, which fell to the bottom in a humiliating loss, can't even keep a 7-point gap and lose...The first round? The 5th round is hard
May 08, 2025
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KIA lost 10-11 to the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome on the 7th. KIA went on a 10-3 run in the top of the eighth inning when it scored five runs, including Kim Do-young's three-run timely double. The happy ending of three consecutive wins and a series sweep was shattered in the bottom of the eighth inning. KIA's bullpen collapsed with eight runs after failing to keep the 7-point gap, and KIA bowed its head in shock. suffered more than one loss of internal injuries.
Starting pitcher Hwang Dong-ha pitched well with one run in five innings and threw only 70 pitches, but he decided to quickly put in the bullpen from the sixth inning. Hwang Dong-ha switched to a bullpen during the season, making his third start on the day, and the previous two games failed to fill five innings and left early. The number of pitches was enough to take another inning, but the bench seems to have decided that Hwang Dong-ha has already exceeded expectations. It is quite common to see the manager change the starter in a good atmosphere when he plays well for the first time in a long time.
The problem was the KIA bullpen. One of the reasons why KIA, which was considered the first-place power this season, is moving around in the middle and lower ranks is the bullpen. It is also true that since the opening, the main players such as Kim Do-young, Park Chan-ho, Kim Sun-bin and Na Sung-beom have left due to injuries, and at the same time, the bullpen was loose, so they lacked the strength to protect the victory. KIA bullpen remained seventh in the league with a 5.62 ERA before the game on the 7th. Except for closer Jung Hae-young and setup man Jo Sang-woo, there was a lack of reliable cards. It was also a big loss for left-hander must-winner Kwak Do-kyu to end the season on the operating table due to elbow ligament damage.
I managed to hold on until the seventh inning. Lee Joon-young (⅓ Inning) and Jeon Sang-hyun (1st ⅔ Inning) took the mound one after another and allowed one run each, but there was no crisis that the game could be overturned. Jeon Sang-hyun threw 30 pitches and erased the regret that Hwang Dong-ha went down the mound a little early.
The problem was the eighth episode. KIA seemed to easily take care of the 10-3 victory with its batters scoring five points in the top of the eighth inning. KIA manager Lee Bum-ho showed his will to win by taking Choi Ji-min to the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning despite a seven-run gap. However, as Choi Ji-min walked Song Sung-moon and Choi Joo-hwan in succession, the concept began to get twisted.
Manager Lee replaced the pitcher with right-hander Kim Geon-guk at the crisis of first and second bases with no outs. Since it was a 7-point gap, he would have tried to save Jo Sang-woo, who took the mound on the 6th, and there was a high possibility that he was not ready to raise Jo Sang-woo immediately in an unexpected crisis.
Kim Geon-guk gave up a left-handed hit to Yasiel Puig, the first batter, leading to a full base crisis with no outs. When the next batter, Ruben Cardinez, got on base with a ground ball in front of the third baseman, he forced third baseman Song Sung-moon out of the home to pass the ball.
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KIA added Cho Sang-woo late on, but it led to the worst ending. Cho Sang-woo walked Kim Dong-heon, the first batter. Oh Sun-jin was struck out and became a first base with two outs, and after sending Kim Dong-heon to second base with a wild pitch, Lee Yong-kyu was walked, leading to a crisis with two outs and runners on first and second bases.
Manager Lee put in a strong force to put closer Jung Hae-young here. There was a determined willingness to prevent this crisis.
However, Jung Hae-young allowed a walk to Song Sung-moon, putting him on the verge of loading the bases with two outs. It was then overturned 10-11 after Choi Joo-hwan hit a timely three-run double to right field. KIA suffered tremendous internal injuries by losing all of its cards, including Cho Sang-woo and Jung Hae-young, which could have been saved by failing to keep the 7-point lead.
KIA bullpen ERA soared to 6.23 after the game on the 7th, and fell from seventh place to the bottom in a day. Jung Hae-young (2.25) is the only bullpen pitcher with a two-point ERA, and only Yoon Joong-hyun (3.00) and Cho Sang-woo (3.38) are in the three-point range. This is how serious the KIA bullpen situation is.
The come-from-behind loss record is also a point to see how weak the KIA bullpen is. KIA came from behind to lose 11 games this season to rank second in the league. No. 1 is Kiwoom, which has come from behind to lose 12 games.
KIA, which was considered the absolute first place, remains tied for sixth with SSG Landers with 16 wins and 19 losses and a 0.457 winning rate for the season as of the 8th. Although it has not been far from the mid-range competition with the fifth-place kt Wiz by 1.5 games and the fourth-place Samsung Lions by 2 games, the red light came into the first place challenge for the second consecutive year. If KIA continues to take on the unstable bullpen problem and plays the season, it may become difficult for KIA to guarantee the competition for the semifinals.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.