The cost of wasting opportunities early in the game was severe. The KIA lineup struggled with a hitting slump, dousing their momentum from the 4-game winning streak.

The Korea Professional Baseball KIA Tigers lost 3-5 to the KT Wiz in the fourth match of the season held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 20th.

KIA faced off against KT’s replacement starter Cho Yi-hyun with a lineup of Park Chan-ho, Oh Sun-woo, Kim Do-young, Choi Hyung-woo, Kim Sun-bin, Lee Woo-sung, Choi Won-jun, Han Joon-soo, and Kim Ho-ryeong. They missed numerous scoring opportunities early in the game, and the underperformance of Lee Woo-sung in the sixth spot was particularly painful.

In the second inning, trailing 0-2, KIA had a no-out situation on first and second base after consecutive hits by lead-off batter Choi Hyung-woo and Kim Sun-bin. At bat was Lee Woo-sung, and manager Lee Beom-ho trusted the player by opting for an aggressive strategy instead of a bunt; however, the result was a strikeout on three pitches. After a swing and miss on the first pitch forkball, he watched the second pitch forkball and the third pitch fastball from the plate. The third fastball grazed the upper outside border, leading to an unfortunate call by the automatic ball strike system declaring it a strike. Next, Choi Won-jun ended the inning with a double play that went second baseman to shortstop to first baseman.

In the third inning, with two outs, Park Chan-ho hit a single to left field on the first pitch, and Oh Sun-woo followed with a double down the right field foul line, igniting a spark for a comeback. However, Kim Do-young’s well-hit ball headed straight to the right fielder, ending the inning.

Still trailing 0-2 in the fourth inning, after one out, Kim Sun-bin reached base on a hit by pitch. Again, opportunity knocked for Lee Woo-sung, but with a 1 ball and 2 strikes unfavorable count, he hit a slider on the fifth pitch from Cho Yi-hyun, resulting in another double play from shortstop to second baseman to first baseman. End of the inning.

As the offense faltered, the defense crumbled as well. In the fifth inning, trailing 0-2, lead-off batter Hwang Jae-kyun rushed towards a fly ball but hesitated momentarily, ultimately allowing a hit to left field. Hwang Jae-kyun displayed his disappointment after hitting the ball, but thanks to Lee Woo-sung's misjudgment, another hit was added. KT capitalized on this hit, scoring three runs in the fifth inning.

Lee Woo-sung led off the seventh inning, trailing 2-5, and grounded out to shortstop on Kim Min-soo's first pitch before being replaced by Park Jeong-woo. His season batting average fell from .235 to .230. Lee Woo-sung, who was once touted as a late-blooming star injecting vitality into the KIA lineup, has been struggling.

KIA closed the gap with a two-run homer by Choi Hyung-woo in the sixth inning and a one-RBI double by Kim Sun-bin in the ninth inning, but it was not enough to tie the game. In a situation with one out and runners on first and third bases after Park Jeong-woo's hit, Byeon Woo-hyeok struck out swinging, and Kim Tae-gun flew out to center field on the first pitch, concluding the game.

With this loss, KIA failed to achieve their first five-game winning streak of the season, and after two days, their win percentage fell to .500. The season stands at 22 wins and 23 losses. They also had their six-game winning streak at Suwon KT Wiz Park and their seven-game winning streak on Tuesdays snapped. The missed opportunities in the second, third, and fourth innings would linger as regrets.

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