What if Hanwha had beaten Samsung? It would have been a scenario that KIA would not want to imagine. How did the defending champion, considered the absolute favorite before the season, end up in a situation where it fears falling to the bottom?

The KIA Tigers, led by manager Lee Beom-ho, suffered a 1-5 defeat against the LG Twins in the second match of the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 6th.

The biggest reason for the defeat was the lack of hitting. With MVP Kim Do-young and veteran Kim Sun-bin out due to injuries, manager Lee Beom-ho arranged the lineup of Park Chan-ho (shortstop), Lee Woo-sung (left fielder), Na Seong-beom (right fielder), Choi Hyung-woo (designated hitter), Patrick Wisdom (first baseman), Byeon Woo-hyeok (third baseman), Kim Gyu-seong (second baseman), Kim Tae-kwon (catcher), and Park Jeong-woo (center fielder). Before the game, he mentioned, "I discuss with the hitting coach every day about what batting order would be good. We need to score 5 points to win, but..." However, on that day, the Tigers could not exhibit their strength.

Against the foreign ace Yoni Chirinos of LG, not a single runner stepped on second base until the 6th inning. The only on-base instances were a left single by Kim Tae-kwon after one out in the 3rd inning, a walk by Na Seong-beom with two outs in the 4th inning, and a hit-by-pitch by the leadoff batter Kim Tae-kwon in the 6th inning. In the 3rd inning with one out and one on, Park Jeong-woo hit into a double play from shortstop to second baseman to first baseman, and in the 6th inning, when the leadoff batter finally got on base, Park Jeong-woo struck out on three pitches, Park Chan-ho popped out to left field, and Lee Woo-sung struck out looking.

KIA finally scored its first run in the 7th inning when it was trailing 0-4. The inning began with a double by leadoff batter Na Seong-beom that split center-left. Choi Hyung-woo then moved Na Seong-beom to third with a fly out to center field, and Byeon Woo-hyeok, who came up with two outs and a runner on third, hit a game-tying double into right center. However, with two outs and a runner on second, Kim Gyu-seong hit a ground ball to first base, preventing further scoring. This was both KIA's first and last run.

If the hitting is not effective, the defense must at least be solid, but the defense was unexpectedly shaky for a team that was the integrated champion last year. A critical mistake occurred in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Starter Adam Oller was thrown off after two outs, consecutively allowing a hit to Park Dong-won, a hit-by-pitch to Koo Bon-hyeok, and a walk to Park Hae-min. Facing Hong Chang-ki during a bases-loaded crisis, he allowed a hit to left field with a 3B-1S disadvantage, and left fielder Lee Woo-sung committed an error by letting the ball get past him.

Since a hit had already occurred, there was nothing that could be done about the scoring of the runner on third, Park Dong-won. With two outs, the runner on second, Koo Bon-hyeok, also crossed home plate. The problem was what happened next.

Lee Woo-sung fielded the ball he had let slip and threw to second base, preventing the runner from advancing to second. However, at that moment, the runner on first, Park Hae-min, did not stop at second but continued home. Park Chan-ho, who was on second, threw home, but the throw was somewhat high, and Park Hae-min scored by a hair's breadth. KIA conceded a run that should not have been given due to an error, allowing LG to take early momentum.

Starter Oller's inconsistency was also a problem. After giving up three runs in the 2nd inning, he threw a clean three-up, three-down inning against the middle of the lineup in the 3rd inning but then put himself in a bases-loaded situation again with two hits and two walks in the 4th inning. He then allowed a sacrifice fly to left field by Hong Chang-ki, resulting in another run. Oller completed six innings with 4 hits, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts, and 4 runs (3 earned) on 96 pitches, achieving a quality start but becoming the losing pitcher for the season.

With this loss, KIA fell back into a losing streak, widening its win-loss differential to -4 with a .500 winning percentage. The team is now at 4 wins and 8 losses in 9th place. Had the 10th place Hanwha Eagles defeated the Samsung Lions in Daegu that day, KIA might have had to face the unbelievable reality of being last. Hanwha lost to Samsung, and KIA barely maintained its 9th place, just 0.5 games ahead of the last place. The spring for KIA, the champion considered the absolute favorite before the season, seems far away.

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