'KIA-LG Game Cha' This weekend's 3rd consecutive game. LG has won four games in a row since Hernandez came... KIA is worried about Lauer's four runs in 3.1 innings
Aug 12, 2024
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KIA Tigers are still solidly No. 1. It is true that the four-game difference from the second-place LG Twins is a big difference in the second-half race.
But the atmosphere is strange. In the first appearance of a new foreign pitcher, the light and shade were divided, and it had no choice but to affect it.
LG's Eliaser Hernandez, who sent and brought Casey Kelly, took the mound against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil on the 8th. It was burdensome to come up at a time when the team was losing four consecutive games. He took the mound with a limit of about 80 pitches, but it was more than expected. He allowed two hits (one homer) with one walk, seven strikeouts, and one run in five innings. Jared Young's home run in the bottom of the first inning was the only run he lost. The rest of the batters have never stepped on second base. He cooked Doosan batters by spraying as many as seven pitches, including sinkers, cutters, sliders, curves, and changeups, on fastballs and sweeper up to 151km.
It is never easy to hit a pitcher's ball well from the beginning. He will be able to play better after getting used to it by seeing it in person and analyzing his power, and even so, in his first appearance, Hernandez was good at raising expectations as the first starter in his debut.
The fact that a certain ace came to the team raised the team's atmosphere. On the 8th, when Hernandez took the mound, LG won 10-3, escaping four consecutive losses. Since then, he has swept three consecutive weekend games against NC to continue his four-game winning streak. On the 9th and 10th, the batters took the lead as they burst from the beginning, and on the 11th, they lost the game by giving up two runs due to a disappointing error in the top of the ninth inning, when the score was tied 1-1, but Austin's solo shot and Park Dong-won's two-run double in the bottom of the ninth inning made a 4-3 come-from-behind victory. He met Doosan and NC last week, lost two games, and finished with four consecutive wins.
KIA had two wins and three losses last week. On the 6th, he won 2-0 based on Kim Do-hyun's good pitching in the match against Gwangju KT, but it was worrisome that Choi Hyung-woo suffered a side injury in the bottom of the eighth inning. And the anxiety has become a reality. Choi Hyung-woo was pulled out due to an internal oblique injury. The hit weakened as Choi Hyung-woo, who was the No. 1 RBI player, fell out, and then returned to 1 win and 3 losses.
Ace James Nail took the mound on the 7th, but he lost 2-13 due to errors, and Hwang Dong-ha pitched hard on the 8th, but lost 0-1 in overtime. On the 9th, he had a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the bottom of the 9th inning against Samsung on the 9th, but after a day off due to rain, new foreign pitcher Eric Lauer was worried.
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Last week, which started with a 5.5 game difference, ended with a four-game difference. And a three-game weekend showdown between LG and KIA is waiting this week.
Before that, attention is being paid to whether KIA will increase the number of game cars or LG will narrow them down further in the three consecutive games during the week.
LG will go on an away match against Hanwha in Daejeon, and KIA will meet in Jamsil after an away match against Kiwoom in Gocheok.
Currently, in the rotation, LG's Detrick Ens, Hernandez, and Lim Chan-kyu will play against Hanwha and Choi Won-tae, Son Joo-young, and Ens will play against KIA.
KIA will be able to change its rotation as the game was canceled due to rain on the 10th. Nail is expected to take the mound on Tuesday and Sunday, and Lauer will play against LG on Saturday. Yang Hyun-jong can play both against Kiwoom on Thursday and LG on Friday, and I wonder which game he will match.
It is true that the current atmosphere is higher in LG than in KIA. It is important how much he will reduce his physical exhaustion and raise the atmosphere to face off in the three consecutive games during the week.
indyk@sportschosun.com
