The professional baseball KIA Tigers suffered a shocking reversal defeat, overturning a 7-run lead in the 8th inning.
KIA lost 10-11 in a comeback against the Kiwoom Heroes on July 7 at the Seoul Gocheok Sky Dome during the '2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League.' The defeat was even more shocking as they deployed all their key pitchers with a 3-game winning streak in sight.
Having broken a 3-game losing streak and winning the first two games of the 3-game away series against Kiwoom, KIA seemed poised to take a one-sided victory in this game as well. With both teams tied at 1-1, Choi Hyung-woo hit a 2-run triple in the 6th inning, and Park Jeong-woo and Kim Do-young each added a run-scoring hit to take a 5-1 lead.
After allowing a 2-run deficit in the bottom of the 6th, KIA surged to a 10-3 lead in the top of the 8th inning with singles from Oh Seon-woo and Han Seung-taek being hit by a pitch, followed by a walk from Park Jeong-woo, a 1-RBI push walk from Park Chan-ho, an 1-RBI infield hit from Kim Sun-bin, and a 3-RBI double from Kim Do-young. With only two offensive opportunities left for Kiwoom, KIA firmly grasped a 7-run lead.
However, the game began to turn strangely in the bottom of the 8th. KIA put Choi Ji-min on the mound, but he issued consecutive walks to Song Seong-mun and Choi Joo-hwan. KIA then replaced Choi Ji-min with Kim Geon-guk, but Kim Geon-guk also faltered. After allowing a hit to Yasiel Puig, KIA faced a bases-loaded crisis with no outs, and despite recording an out at home on a ground ball from Ruben Cardines, they conceded a run-scoring hit to Im Byeong-wook. Following that, they allowed a grand slam home run to Kim Tae-jin, quickly permitting a comeback to 8-10.
In a desperate move, KIA urgently brought in their key pitcher Jo Sang-woo. However, as Jo Sang-woo unexpectedly took the mound, his control was off, and he allowed Kim Dong-heon to reach base on a walk. While Oh Seon-jin managed to get the next batter out with a strikeout, he gave another walk to Lee Yong-kyu, putting 2 outs with runners on first and second base.
KIA eventually rolled the dice by sending in closer Jeong Hae-young. However, Jeong Hae-young also showed shaky control, issuing a walk to the first opposing batter, Song Seong-mun, creating a bases-loaded crisis with 2 outs. The batter Jeong Hae-young faced was Choi Joo-hwan, who had been strong against him prior to this game, with 5 hits and 2 home runs in 10 at-bats. In the end, Jeong Hae-young allowed a 3-RBI game-changing double to Choi Joo-hwan, leading to the reversal. Puig was caught out with a fly ball to left field, but the lead had already shifted to Kiwoom. KIA failed to capitalize on their last opportunity in the top of the 9th and ultimately lost.
The defending champions KIA, who won the Korean Series last season, currently sit in a tie for 6th place in the league with a record of 16 wins and 19 losses, a .457 winning percentage. They are 1.5 games behind 5th place KT (18 wins, 2 ties, 18 losses, .500) and 7 games behind league-leading Hanwha (24 wins, 13 losses, .649). KIA had the opportunity to sweep the series against last-placed Kiwoom (13 wins, 27 losses, .325) and turn the tide, but after suffering this shocking reversal loss in the final game, they were left unable to smile even after winning the series.
As KIA endures a difficult start to the season, attention is drawn to whether they can recover from this shocking reversal defeat and bounce back for the remainder of the season.
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