Kia stays true to its ‘nemesis’ status in a crisis to keep its top-five hopes alive.온라인바카라
Kia won the first game of a doubleheader against KT at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Thursday, 10-2. It was their second straight win, following a 3-1 victory the day before, and their 10th win against KT this season (4 losses). They closed the gap on fifth-place SSG to two games ahead of the second game against KT.
After a 3-1 victory the previous day in a pitcher’s duel between Lee Yi-ri (KIA) and Ko Young-pyo (KT), with Kim Do-young, Kim Sun-bin, and Lee Woo-sung combining for three RBIs, KIA pounded the KT mound with 13 hits and eight walks in a 10-2 victory.
The bats came out evenly as starter Thomas Panoni earned his sixth win of the season with six innings of four-hit ball, four strikeouts and one run.
In the top of the second inning, No. 9 Kim Kyu-sung drew a walk and stole second base before No. 1 Park Chan-ho led off with a single up the middle. With two outs, No. 2 Kim Do-young hit a two-run home run to left field on the first pitch to make it 3-0. It was early in the game, but the home run set the tone for KIA.
Panoni singled off Alford in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit to 3-1, but in the top of the fourth, the KIA bats came back to take advantage of KT’s exclusivity. After leading off with a single to center, Park Chan-ho moved to second on Kim Do-young’s sacrifice bunt and scored when No. 4 Socrates doubled down the left field line. Lee Woo-sung followed with back-to-back RBI singles to make it 5-1.
KIA’s Thomas Pannoni pitches hard in his start against Suwon KT on April 4. Courtesy of the KIA Tigers
KT starter Yeo Byung-seong threw 109 pitches over five innings, but struggled with nine hits, seven walks and five runs, and left the game in the top of the sixth inning with runners on first and second, as KIA scored five runs in a big way against a revitalized KT bullpen.
It started with the top of the order once again. After Kim Do-young led off with a single to left and Kim Sun-bin walked, KT reliever Kim Jung-woon came on. After Socrates hit a single to right on the first pitch, Lee Woo-sung followed with a single to load the bases, and KIA scored two more runs on a double to center field by Go Jong-wook in the sixth to make it 8-1. With two outs, Lee Chang-jin drew a walk to load the bases and Kim Tae-gun reached on an error to score two more runs, giving KIA a 10-2 lead.
Kim Do-young, who went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, a walk, two RBIs, and two runs scored on the day, said, “I feel like I’m getting good results because I’m playing every game at full strength. I think injuries can happen at any time during the season. It’s unfortunate that we’re missing our main players, but I think it’s a part of the season and I’m focusing more on what I need to do for the team. “We’re still fighting for position and I’m not going to give up until the end. I will try my best to win the second game as well.”
On the other hand, KT, who must defend their second place, suffered from injuries to their starting lineup and their offense completely sank at the end of the season. After scoring just one run on six hits and five walks in the previous game, KT was unable to capitalize on Park Byung-ho’s RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, scoring just two runs on seven hits and six walks to lose for the second straight day.