Lee, who hits 156km, is the No. 1 player in the second half, spearheading the KIA rebound...3rd place is within range. 4th place first

Aug 06, 2025

Lee, who hits 156km, is the No. 1 player in the second half, spearheading the KIA rebound...3rd place is within range. 4th place first
The game between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 5th, and Kim Tae-gun, with no outs, hits a two-run timely hit in the top of the seventh inning and cheers. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.05/



"Coldly, I think up to third place is within our range. I think we need to get a seat in fourth place first."

KIA Tigers catcher Kim Tae-gun smiled broadly after leading three consecutive wins. At the same time, he played a perfect game in offense and defense, leading the pitching staff to score no runs.

Kim Tae-gun started as the eighth catcher against the Lotte Giants in Busan on the 5th and led the team to a 2-0 victory with 1 hit and 2 RBIs in 4 at-bats. Thanks to this, KIA moved up one place from fifth place to fourth place with 49 wins, 4 draws and 47 losses in the season.




As the ace's luxury pitching competition unfolded, the 0-0 balance was hardly broken until the sixth inning. KIA James Nail and Lotte Alec Gamboa showed off their best condition and completely overwhelmed the opponent's lineup.

It was Kim Tae-gun who destroyed Gamboa. In the top of the seventh inning, Kim Bo-ah was shaking as Na Sung-bum walked straight and Patrick Wisdom got on base with an infield hit to the left of the shortstop. Oh Sun-woo buntted dangerously in front of the pitcher, and Gamboa made a catch error that fumbled the ball twice, making the bases loaded with no outs. Kim Tae-gun hit Gamboa's 156km fastball on the first pitch and hit a timely two-run hit.

When Kim Tae-gun saw the (Oh) Sun-woo bunting, he was thinking 'Hey, you shouldn't bunt like that'. Fortunately, the situation became full base again. It seems that the thought of hitting the first pitch led to a good result. As well as the opponent's selection, we were in a first-choice fight, and I thought we had to produce results somehow because we were loaded with no outs. I had to score one point somehow, and I thought if I scored one point, I would win today (5th), but fortunately, I got two points."




Kim Tae-gun is the most reliable hitter in the KIA lineup in the second half of the year. Kim Tae-gun's bat was alive even when the atmosphere sank as he lost seven consecutive games. He hit 0.346 (9 hits in 26 at-bats) with two home runs and six RBIs in 10 games in the second half. Among KIA hitters with 20 or more at-bats, he ranks first in batting average, as well as first in home runs and RBIs. While the main players of the first half, including Choi Hyung-woo (0.240), Wisdom (0.163) and Oh Sun-woo (0.150) have recently slowed down, Kim Tae-gun has rebounded and is taking over the task of solving the problem.

Kim Tae-gun is "It's a relief." I didn't do any special practice. I think what I was thinking of keeping my routine consistently as I was doing is going in a better direction."

Lee, who hits 156km, is the No. 1 player in the second half, spearheading the KIA rebound...3rd place is within range. 4th place first
The game between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 5th, and Kim Tae-gun, the bases loaded with no outs, hits a two-run timely hit in the top of the seventh inning. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.05/
Lee, who hits 156km, is the No. 1 player in the second half, spearheading the KIA rebound...3rd place is within range. 4th place first
KIA won 2-0 in a match between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 5th. Jeon Sang-hyun Kim Tae-gun's battery is sharing joy. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.05/
KIA had lost four consecutive games against Lotte before the victory on the day. In particular, the loss of all three consecutive games against Lotte from the 25th to the 27th of last month led to the worst trend of seven consecutive losses in the second half, which was even more painful, but the victory on that day blew away the sadness.

Kim Tae-gun said "The three consecutive losses themselves were frankly hit hard. I think the players must have felt a lot about the three consecutive losses, and I think they came to Busan thinking a little bit."

KIA manager Lee Bum-ho delivered a message to the team, saying, `Let's just look ahead and go' as he recently recovered to fourth place with three consecutive wins.

Kim Tae-gun "I think so, of courseEmpathizing with "I've been thinking that way since the beginning of the season. The year after winning is really important. If you really want to be a strong team, you have to be able to do it consistently. If you go back and forth, it's not a strong team. In that sense, I agree with the director," he said emphatically.

KIA finally became a complete group with Na Sung-bum and Kim Sun-bin and Kim Do-young joining. Kim Do-young failed to respond to the fastballs of Lotte pitchers in his return match and lost his sense of the game by making only three hits in four at-bats, but if he gets used to the ball, he will surely show the dignity of the MVP.

"Looking at the lineup, I think there is an opportunity to rebound," Kim Tae-gun said. (Kim) Do-young came back and did everything (laughs). I think I was able to make a mistake, strike out, and catch a ball at the end, but what can I do. After the game, I said something to DOYOUNG on the mound," he said with a smile.

First of all, he vowed to do his best not to let the team go further down from fourth place.

Kim Tae-gun said, `Coldly, I think up to third place is within our range. I don't think it's going to be easy up there. To be honest, I think we need to settle down from fourth place first."

Lee, who hits 156km, is the No. 1 player in the second half, spearheading the KIA rebound...3rd place is within range. 4th place first
KIA won 2-0 in a match between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 5th. The players who finished the game are sharing their joy. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.05/




This article was translated by Naver AI translator.