KIA escaped its second consecutive loss with a 3-2 victory in the first game of the double header against SSG Landers in the “2024 professional baseball SOL ba
nk KBO League” held at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on the 12th. 스포츠토토핫 Following starter Hwang Dong-ha's good pitching and Kim Sun-bin's winning home run, Jung Hae-young, who finished the game, secured the victory with a scoreless first ⅔.
It was a showdown between SSG Roenis Elias and KIA Hwang Dong-ha. Elias has been in the rotation steadily, and Hwang Dong-ha took his third mound as a substitute for Yi. SSG was expected to gain the upper hand, but Hwang Dong-ha displayed a reversal of his pitching and played a thinly-veiled game.
Pitchers from both teams continued to display good pitching through the third inning. Kim Sun-bin had a hit with one out at the bottom of the first inning, but Kim Do-young's double play followed. In the second inning, Lee Woo-sung, who got on base with a walk, succeeded in stealing the second base, but all of the follow-up hitters were out due to poor batting. SSG was humiliatingly hit until the third inning due to Hwang Dong-ha's pitch.
SSG solved the clue in the fourth inning. The leadoff hitter Park Sung-han created an opportunity with a double that rolled to the left fence. After Choi Jeong-ui grounded out to first base, Heredia hit a fly to center to score the first run. In the fifth inning, Oh Tae-gon, the leadoff hitter, got on base with a hit to the right, and got a chance with one out and second base, but subsequent hitters remained silent.
Kia, which had been blocked by Elias' pitch, also launched an offensive in the bottom of the fourth inning. With one out, Kim had a hit to the right, Choi Hyung-woo's double to the middle, and Lee Woo-sung's walk to take the opportunity to load the bases. With Socrates' hit to the left and two outs, Kim Tae-gun got a walk, and succeeded in reversing the game 2-1. However, with two outs and a third base in the second inning, Byun Woo-hyuk had another strikeout and failed to make a critical hit.
SSG, which overcame the crisis with one out and runners on the first and second bases in the sixth inning, showed off its power again in the seventh inning. With two outs against Jang Hyun-sik who was throwing well, Ha Jae-hoon drew a walk and Choi Kyung-mo supported him with a critical hit, taking the opportunity to get to the first base with two outs. Jihoon Choi made a missed infield hit that passed the pitcher's key, and brought the game to square one. It was a tying hit that showed the power of fastballs.
KIA was ahead by one stroke again in the seventh inning. When Park Chan-ho, who got on base with one out, failed to steal second base, Kim Sun-bin hit a solo shot against the left wall, taking the lead, 3-2. SSG had a chance to reach the first and second bases with no outs, with Choi Jeong and Heredia drawing walks in the top of the eighth inning. However, both hitters were struck out due to bunt failure. KIA closing pitcher Jung Hae-young gradually maintained his win by deleting five out counts, including four strikeouts, from the bottom of the eighth inning. 12 saves for this season.
Hwang pitched well by allowing two hits and one run in five innings. He pitched heavy fastballs with speeds of up to 148 kilometers on average. His forkballs were powerful and his sliders and curves were combined to block the SSG batters. Left-hander Kwak Do-gyu had two out counts against Jihoon Choi and Park Sung-han in the sixth inning, and Jang Hyun-sik put an end to the crisis with two outs and runners on first and third, but allowed one run in the seventh inning. Choi Ji-min won the game.
SSG starting pitcher Elias threw only until the fifth inning due to damage to his middle finger nail. He pitched well with up to 154 kilometers of fastball, 140 kilometers of high speed change-up, and 129 kilometers of slider, but failed to secure victory. He allowed four hits, three strikeouts and two runs in five innings with three outs. Choi struck out consecutively, with runners on the first and second bases with one out, in the sixth inning, and gradually continued his tight race. Noh allowed one run after hitting a homer.
