Lim Ki-young (30-KIA Tigers) held off a volcanic comeback by the Lotte Giants. KIA snapped a two-game losing streak with a strong pitching performance.
KIA won 13-5 against the Lotte Giants in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Sajik Stadium in Busan on Wednesday afternoon. With the win, KIA snapped a two-game losing streak and returned to a 5-percent winning percentage with 45 wins, 2 draws and 45 losses to remain in sixth place.
KIA, which had been on a roll in the second half of the season, has gone winless in its last three games. The team suffered back-to-back losses as the fielders made numerous errors and the batting lineup was silent.
The starting lineup also showed signs of instability. In a game against the LG Twins that was declared a rainout on Aug. 8, the “domestic ace” Yang Hyun-jong gave up eight runs in two innings. If it wasn’t for the downpour, it would have left a huge scar on Yang.
Yang has a 4.01 ERA in 18 games and 101 innings this season. That’s a far cry from his prime, when he was dominating batters with his pitching. National left-hander Lee Yi-ri, who was considered the heir apparent to Yang Hyun-jong, has also been disappointing this season with a 4.00 ERA in 19 games and 90 innings pitched. He is unable to complete more than five innings per game due to his unreliable delivery.
This is where Yoon Young-cheol comes in, and he gave KIA some hope by pitching a one-run fourth inning against Lotte on Wednesday. Although his fastball only topped out at 141 kilometers per hour, he used his precise delivery, sharp slider, and changeup to cook the Lotte lineup.
However, Yoon faltered sharply in the fifth inning. With one out in the bottom of the fifth, he gave up back-to-back doubles to right field to Noh Jin-hyuk and Son Sung-bin. He then gave up an RBI single to Ahn Kwon-soo and an RBI double to Ahn Chi-hong for the third run.
With runners on second and third, Yoon gave up a single to Lee Jung-hoon and a single to Jeon Jun-woo. Lotte quickly closed the gap to 5-8.
It was a desperate situation for KIA. If they lost this game, the repercussions of blowing a seven-run lead would be devastating. In the end, 먹튀검증 the KIA bench replaced starter Yoon Young-cheol with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning. It was the biggest play of the game.
Taking over the mound was Lim Ki-young. Im had been a stalwart in both long relief and the closer role this season, going 1-1 with a 2.44 ERA and 11 saves in 59.1 innings pitched before this game.
He got Jeong-hoon to fly out to center field in the bottom of the fifth inning, and then struck out Nico Goodrum, Kim Min-seok, and Noh Jin-hyuk in the bottom of the sixth inning. He was coming off of seven days of rest and had plenty of energy. After getting the leadoff hitter, Ko Seung-min, to fly out to right field, Lim retired the other two table-setters, Ahn Kwon-soo and Ahn Chi-hong, on a side-by-side fly to left field. KIA scored four runs in the top of the eighth inning to seal the victory behind Lim Ki-young.
Im Ki-young came on in a clutch situation when the starting pitcher collapsed. He struck out seven batters to secure the win for KIA. Recent