1st place in the first half of the year in 2547 days! But the real game is coming...Will KIA find a breakthrough?

Jul 03, 2024

Lotte and KIA won 5-4 at Gwangju KIA Champions Field on the 6th. KIA players share their joy after the game. Gwangju = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2024.06.06/

It took about seven years to finish the first half of the year in first place.

KIA Tigers have confirmed the first place in the first half of the 2024 KBO League. KIA, which overpowered the Samsung Lions 9-5 after a bloody battle in the 10th inning of extra time at Daegu Lions Park on the 2nd, recorded 46 wins, 2 draws and 33 losses throughout the season. As the second-place LG Twins lost to the Kiwoom Heroes, they won 45 games, drew 2 and lost 37, and KIA succeeded in widening its gap with LG to 2.5 games. As a result, KIA will end the first half of the game with Samsung in first place regardless of the results of the game between the 3rd and 4th.

It is the first time in seven seasons that KIA ended the first half of the season in first place since the 2017 season. At the end of the first half of July 13, 2017, KIA was in first place with 57 wins and 28 losses, eight games ahead of the then second-place NC Dinos. With that momentum, he went straight to the Korean Series as No. 1 in the pennant race, beat the Doosan Bears, and succeeded in achieving V11's wish.

Looking back, it was a series of crises.

The LG-KIA match at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 20th. Fans are enthusiastic when Kim Do-young hit a grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Gwangju = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.6.20/

Up until April, Kia was on the verge of collapse. KIA, which has won four consecutive games since the opening, has jumped to the lead with seven consecutive wins in April. By April, he seemed to solidify his lead with 21 wins and 10 losses and a winning rate of 0.677. In May (13 wins, 1 draw and 11 losses), the pace of building wins slowed down, but it seemed to be widening the gap with the second place while sticking to the first place with a winning margin of +13. However, due to the absence of starting pitchers, bullpen burden, and slump in the lineup, he eventually fell to second place on June 7, 0.5 games behind LG, giving up the lead.

Taking advantage of LG's losing streak, KIA, which rose to the lead by 0.5 games again on June 12, stayed in the lead despite the pursuit of the second-place group, eventually resulting in the confirmation of the first place in the first half. At every crisis, the concentration and effort that caught a difficult game were effective.

The joy of being No. 1 in the first half in 2,547 days, but it is too early to feel safe.

Still, the gap with the second place can depend on the results of the three consecutive games. Recently, the lineup has shown signs of recovery, but the bullpen problem, which has been exhausted since the end of May, has still not been resolved. It is filling the gap of closer Jung Hae-young with collective management, but it is a stopgap measure that will inevitably add to the burden.

KIA-KT match held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 16th. KIA players who won 3-1 are giving high fives. Suwon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.6.16/

KIA, which took a breather after confirming the first place in the first half with the victory against Samsung, will immediately begin its schedule in the second half after the All-Star Game break. Although it is a short break period, if you look back to the 'open closure' due to the cancellation of the rain earlier, the exhausted bullpen's physical strength problem is expected to be resolved to some extent. If the bullpen structure is established after Jung Hae-young's return and the rebound of the lineup continues, it is worth expecting a better result than at the end of the first half.

ppark@sportschosun.com

1st place in the first half of the year in 2547 days! But the real game is coming...Will KIA find a breakthrough?

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