The KIA Tigers suffered a sweep defeat against the SSG Landers in a doubleheader over the weekend, dropping to 8th place.
Although they are only 1 game behind the 5th place Samsung Lions and 1.5 games behind the 4th place NC Dinos, it was disappointing to lose 1 game and win 2 against SSG, which featured its top 1 to 3 pitchers. The game performance was also poor. KIA has been struggling with injuries to its key players since the opening game, and with additional minor injuries appearing in the doubleheader, difficulties are expected ahead.
Foreign hitter Wisdom was replaced due to back pain during the first game of the doubleheader against SSG on the 11th. Starting as the 2nd baseman, Wisdom was out on a fly ball to right field in the 1st inning with no outs and out on a ground ball to the 3rd baseman in the 3rd inning with 1 out and a runner on 2nd base. Wisdom was replaced by Byeon Woo-hyeok during the defensive play at the bottom of the 3rd inning.
A KIA club official said, "Wisdom was replaced to protect the player due to back pain and is currently icing. There are no plans for a hospital examination." Wisdom did not participate in the second game of the doubleheader.
Wisdom has a batting average of .249 with 9 home runs and 26 RBIs, achieving an OPS of .898, which ranks him tied for 4th in home runs. However, his batting average in the last 10 games is .158 (6 hits in 38 at-bats), and in May, his average is .111 (3 hits in 27 at-bats), showing a downturn. Even if the back pain improves with a day or two of rest, there are concerns about his recent declining hitting form.
In the second game of the doubleheader, outfielder Park Jung-woo was replaced due to a side injury. Park Jung-woo, starting as the 9th center fielder, hit a ground ball to the 2nd baseman in the 3rd inning with 1 out and a runner on 1st base, leading to the lead runner being out at 2nd base. Park appeared to be slightly grimacing after stepping on 1st BASS. An inning-ending ground ball by Park Chan-ho led to Park Jung-woo being replaced by Oh Sun-woo during the defensive play at the bottom of the 3rd inning.
A KIA club official said, "Park Jung-woo felt discomfort in his left side while running and was replaced to protect the player." About 10 minutes later, they added, "Park Jung-woo is scheduled for an MRI examination at the hospital." Unlike Wisdom, he went straight to the hospital for examination.
The replacement of Park Jung-woo due to injury caused a domino effect. Oh Sun-woo entered as the left fielder, and Lee Woo-sung moved to center field. Lee Woo-sung is not a professional center fielder. During the bottom of the 6th inning, SSG's Chae Hyun-woo hit a deep triple that Lee Woo-sung chased but could not catch. It was a hit that could have been caught by a center fielder with strong defensive skills.
Starting center fielder Choi Won-jun was sent down to the 2nd team on the 5th due to poor hitting. He can be called up to the 1st team on the 15th. Kim Ho-ryeong, who has strong defense, was also removed from the 1st team along with Choi Won-jun on the 5th.
If Park Jung-woo cannot play normally for the time being, the available outfield resources on the 1st team include Oh Sun-woo, Lee Woo-sung, Kim Seok-hwan, and Jeong Hae-won. It is unfortunate that there are no players with wide outfield defensive range and excellent skills.
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