Despite scoring 9 runs and hitting a decisive home run in the final regular inning of the 9th, the KIA Tigers' bullpen was extremely unstable.
KIA secured a hard-fought victory against the NC Dinos with a score of 9-8 at the Changwon NC Park on the 14th. They escaped a two-game losing streak, achieving a record of 33 wins, 33 losses, and 1 tie.
They took control early in the game and seemed to be progressing smoothly. In the 1st inning, taking advantage of NC starter Shin Young-woo's struggles, Oh Sun-woo hit a three-run home run to take the lead. In the 2nd inning, after Kim Ho-ryeong's walk and Kim Tae-kun's single to right field, Kim Ho-ryeong scored with a clever baserunning play while the opposing defense was loose, establishing a 4-0 lead.
Starter Yang Hyun-jong briefly struggled, giving up a solo home run to NC's Davidson and consecutive timely hits to Park Min-woo and Davidson, bringing the score to 4-3. However, a big inning in the 4th with 4 runs allowed them to regain the lead at 8-3. They blocked and repelled NC's pursuit.
Starter Yang Hyun-jong recorded 4 hits allowed (1 home run), 1 walk, 1 hit batter, 3 strikeouts, and 3 earned runs over 5 innings before leaving the mound. He only threw 62 pitches, and in the 5th inning, he issued just one walk while striking out all three batters he faced, but the KIA bench quickly pulled him from the game.
Later, Seong Young-tak was brought to the mound, and from this point, things began to get a little strange. In the 6th inning, Seong Young-tak struck out the first batter Davidson but issued a walk to Park Gun-woo. He then handled Son Ah-seop and pinch hitter Han Seok-hyun, escaping the crisis.
In the 7th inning, they found themselves in a crisis with two outs. After a walk to Kim Joo-won and a hit to right-center by Kwon Hee-dong, they were in a two-out, first and third base jam. At that time, left-handed batter Choi Jeong-won entered, prompting them to bring in left-handed pitcher Choi Ji-min.
However, Choi Ji-min threw a headshot at Choi Jeong-won. The 145 km/h fastball misfired and headed toward Choi Jeong-won's head, resulting in an ejection for a headshot. They couldn't record even one out and continued into a two-out, bases loaded crisis. KIA had to hurriedly summon their ultimate pitcher Jeong Hae-young, who managed to handle Davidson with a ground ball to the shortstop, allowing them to breathe a sigh of relief.
There were no easy innings. Ultimately, in the 8th inning, they faced a misfortune with a double from Park Gun-woo. The ball was obscured in the sky, and center fielder Kim Ho-ryeong couldn't locate its drop point, leading to a double. They faced a first and third base crisis after allowing a single to Son Ah-seop, and despite getting Han Seok-hyun out with a ground ball to the second baseman, they couldn't prevent the scoring from the runner on third base. The score narrowed to 8-4, just a four-run difference.
However, KIA nailed the game despite the tense flow. In the 9th inning, lead-off batter Kim Gyu-seong hit a solo home run. This was a decisive home run for the game. With a 5-run lead in the 9th, it deflated the opposing team's spirit.
However, was KIA perhaps too complacent? They scored an insurance run, but it was still a 5-run lead, and the NC lineup rolled over to their top order in the 9th. They were also in a losing streak. Even though it would have been acceptable for a top-tier pitcher to come out, KIA sent out Yoon Joong-hyun to the mound. This was because Yoon Joong-hyun had not been performing poorly recently. In hindsight, this choice nearly led to an irreversible outcome. Yoon Joong-hyun issued consecutive walks to Kim Joo-won and Kwon Hee-dong. KIA hurriedly brought in their closer Jeong Hae-young. However, Jeong Hae-young allowed the first batter Kim Han-byeol to hit a single to left field, further escalating the crisis to bases loaded with no outs.
For now, Davidson was relieved as he struck out on a swing for a Samjin. However, next, after an 8-pitch battle against Park Gun-woo that went full count, they were hit by a towering grand slam. In an instant, the score narrowed to 9-8, just a one-point difference.
After that, they also allowed a single to Son Ah-seop, intensifying the crisis. Fortunately, they managed to strike out Han Seok-hyun and induce Kim Hwijeep to hit a ground ball to the third baseman, barely securing the victory.
This season, KIA's bullpen has an earned run average of 5.19, ranking 9th in the league. The only teams with a bullpen average of over 5 in the league are KIA and the bottom-ranked Kiwoom. They also rank 3rd in the league with 14 comeback losses.
On that day, they quickly replaced Yang Hyun-jong considering pitch count management and matchups against the opposing lineup, and Seong Young-tak also contributed. The problem arose from the headshot by Choi Ji-min, followed by the unfortunate hit from Jeong Sang-hyun that disrupted the game flow. Even after the decisive home run in the 9th, KIA's pitcher's reality meant they couldn't allow themselves to relax.
[OSEN]