2.5 billion aces did a big job. KIA's starting win for the first time in 31 days, I can't believe it

Aug 06, 2025

2.5 billion aces did a big job. KIA's starting win for the first time in 31 days, I can't believe it
KIA won 2-0 in a match between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 5th. Nail and director Lee Bum-ho are sharing their joy. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.05/



I can't believe we've won for 31 days. I can't believe it, but it's the current state of the KIA Tigers. The difficulty was cut through by 'Ace'.

KIA won the team's victory over the Lotte Giants 2-0 at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 5th. KIA's team Young Bong-seung is the first time in 31 days since the match against Lotte in Gwangju on July 5.

Here's another record in 31 days. It's a starting win. On this day, KIA's starting pitcher James Nail allowed only two hits in six innings, allowing eight strikeouts and three walks.




KIA's batters failed to score a run until the sixth inning when Nail kept the mound. When the lineup was blocked by Alec Gamboa's good pitching and tied to zero points, Nail also responded with a scoreless pitch, showing her ability to manage the crisis down 'Ace'.

When Nail finished scoreless in the bottom of the sixth inning, the number of pitches was 94. Realistically, it could be too much to throw another inning. That's when the KIA lineup began to move.

2.5 billion aces did a big job. KIA's starting win for the first time in 31 days, I can't believe it
KIA starter Nail is pitching hard in a game between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 5th. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.05/
In the top of the seventh inning, Gamboa's ball was weak. Gamboa allowed a straight walk as he failed to control his ball in the leadoff hitter Na Sung-beom's at-bat, and suffered from difficulties, with six consecutive balls. Patrick Wisdom followed by an infield hit, with no outs and runners on first and second bases. Gamboa's defense error at the port created a full base chance with no outs. KIA finished the attack in the top of the seventh inning as Kim Tae-gun's two-run timely hit broke the balance of zero gear.




Ahead of the defense in the bottom of the seventh inning, the KIA bench replaced the pitcher with Sung Young-tak. If he failed to score in the top of the seventh inning, Nail would have gone down without meeting the starting requirements. It was fantastic timing. Sung Youngtak took the mound following his nailsKIA secured a valuable victory as Han Jae-seung and Jeon Sang-hyun combined for three scoreless innings. The team's ranking also rose to fourth place again. Nail became the winning pitcher. It's only the sixth win (two losses) of the season.

2.5 billion aces did a big job. KIA's starting win for the first time in 31 days, I can't believe it
The game between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 5th, and the nail on the first and second bases with no outs in the bottom of the sixth inning are happy after dealing with Reyes with a double play. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.05/
And the team's starting win came 31 days after Kim Do-hyun, who became the winning pitcher against Lotte in Gwangju on July 5. This shows how much KIA struggled for a month in July.

KIA, which had a bad atmosphere, including three consecutive wins in early July, ended the first half with four consecutive losses. And even after the start of the second half, he was swept back-to-back by LG and Lotte, struggling in a swamp of seven consecutive losses. The team's ranking, which once rose to second place, slipped to seventh place.




There were so few chances to win, so even the starting win was the last on July 5. Lee Eui-ri started against Gwangju NC on July 20, his first victory in the second half, but Cho Sang-woo, a bullpen, took the relief victory. In addition, the trade transfer bullpen duo had consecutive relief wins as Han Jae-seung became the winning pitcher in the match against Doosan in Gwangju on July 31 and Kim Si-hoon in the match against Hanwha in Gwangju on the 1st.

2.5 billion aces did a big job. KIA's starting win for the first time in 31 days, I can't believe it
KIA won 2-0 in a match between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 5th. Nails and Kim Tae-gun are sharing their joy. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.05/
And finally, he cut off the swamp of the starting losing streak, which had long nails. It's the role I wanted from 'Ace'. Nail, who re-signed KIA with a high salary of up to 1.8 million dollars (about 2.5 billion won) ahead of this season, did not have any scoring support this season. When Nail took the mound, the batters were silent as if they had promised. KIA batters also repeatedly expressed their apologies to Nail.

However, in the important Lotte match, Nail's good pitching, proper help from the batters, and the bullpen's scoreless collaboration. The bench won in the best-case scenario ever.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.