“Nail art” is back, and “Tes-hyung” can’t be stopped. KIA Tigers beat Hanwha Eagles to confirm the weekend winning series early on. Despite the evil spirit of injury that continued from the first half of the year, KIA has become a family that can do anything. Above all, the Korean team’s struggles beyond expectations of the Korean team’s native starters show the energy of the universe.핑크알바
Kia won the match against Hanwha in Daejeon by eight to four on July 20. Having grabbed five consecutive wins on the day, Kia has maintained its lead in the league with 56 wins, two draws and 35 losses this season. The game gap with the runner-up LG Twins widened to 6.5 games.
On the day, Kia faced off against Hanwha starting pitcher Kim Ki-joong with starting batting order consisting of Socrates (left fielder), Choi Won-joon (center fielder), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Choi Hyung-woo (designated hitter), Na Sung-bum (right fielder), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Byun Woo-hyuk (first baseman), Kim Tae-gun (catcher) and Park Chan-ho (striker). The starting pitcher for Kia was Nail.
Kia’s bat was in full swing from the start of the game. In the top of the first inning, Kia scored the first run with a timely double by Na Sung-bum, who had two outs and runners on the first and second bases, which was made with walks by Choi Won-joon and Choi Hyung-woo. In the process, Choi Hyung-woo, the first baseman, also homered due to an error in the opponent team’s right field catch.
KIA allowed starter Nail to chase after Kim Tae-yeon by one point in the bottom of the first inning. However, Kia quickly widened the gap to 4-1 when Choi Won-joon and Kim Do-young hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the third inning.
With runners at the first and second bases with two outs in the third inning, Kia caught Chae Eun-seong with a fly ball to the right field and took a breather. Then, with one out in the top of the fourth inning, Socrates hit a 130-meter-long solo home run to run away one more point. In the top of the fifth inning, Kim hit a timely two-run homer to left with one out and a bases loaded.
In the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs and runners on the first and second bases, Nail induced Noh to ground out to second to meet the requirements for his ninth win in this season. Nail, who took the mound in the bottom of the sixth inning, struck out three batters in a row and achieved a quality start for the first time in about a month since the game against LG (two runs in 6.1 innings) on June 19.
KIA sealed its victory with pinch hitter Han Jun-su’s one-run timely hit in the top of the ninth inning. Kim Seung-hyun, the changed pitcher in the bottom of the ninth inning, allowed two runs, but Lee Hyung-bum took the mound after two outs and struck out Noh Si-hwan with a swing and miss to end the game.
Kia was encouraged by Nail’s rebounding throws, which boosted its momentum, which had recently slowed down a bit, by allowing six hits (one homer), five strikeouts, two walks and one run during six innings. Moreover, Socrates, who had two hits, one homer, one RBI, and one run scored, seems to have fully established himself as a team leadoff. Socrates’ batting average in July reached a whopping 0.390 (23 hits in 59 times at bat). Socrates, who already surpassed the season’s batting average of 0.305, had the most homeruns in a season after joining the KBO league with his 21 homeruns. With this trend, he can hit a batting average of 300-30 to 100 RBIs.
KIA faced a negative situation where Yoon Young-chul was left due to long-term injury from the start of the second half following the decision to leave the club in the first half of the season. However, Hwang Dong-ha showed a surprising performance in the first half of the season, and Kim Do-hyun won his first start of the season by allowing one run in five innings immediately after switching to the starting lineup this week. The fact that substitute players fill the spot perfectly whenever there is a hole is another driving force that has led to Kia’s leading Mercury. Literally, the season is full of energy from the universe as well as a “family that works.”
Kia will place Hwang Dong-ha on the starting pitcher’s mound in the match against Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon on Sunday. If it manages to win the weekend series sweep by overcoming even the starting matchup against Wise, the team will be the epitome of no matter what it does. It is curious to see how much wider Kia widens the gap with the runner-up and will be able to comfortably take the lead in the regular season championship race.