In the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League KT Wiz match held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 7th, KIA scored one point in the top of the eighth inning and three points in the top of the ninth inning after a 2-2 neck-and-neck race. KIA won three consecutive games against the Incheon SSG Landers on the 5th. On the 6th, it rose one notch from 9th to 8th.
Last month was full of ups and downs for KIA. He started June in fifth place, but fell to sixth place immediately on the 2nd, and finished the month in ninth place on the 30th, the last day, after finishing seventh on the 21st and eighth on the 22nd. The monthly winning rate was 0.318 (7 wins, 1 draw and 15 losses), ranking ninth overall. The team’s ERA was 5.20, ranking 10th, and its batting average was 0.239 꽁머니지급 (10th).
The front desk moved. KIA, which announced Adonis Medina on the 4th of this month, recruited Mario Sanchez, the best pitcher in Taiwan (CPBL), two days later on the 6th, and even Sean Anderson broke up by bringing Thomas Panoni back over the time difference on the same day. And on the 5th, catcher Kim Tae-gun was recruited as a trade even at the risk of bleeding that gave up all-weather infielder Ryu Ji-hyuk.
The return of the wounded also boosted the team’s morale. On April 2, two days after the opening, infielder Kim Do-young, who fractured his right metatarsal bone while running against SSG, and two outfielder Na Sung-beom, who had not played at all due to calf muscle damage before the season, were registered in the first division entry together on the 23rd of last month.
Kim Do-young is showing a batting average of 0.370 with 17 hits (two home runs) in 46 at-bats, six RBIs, nine runs, and five steals in 10 games since his return. In particular, he has swung a total of eight hits in 15 at-bats with multi-hits in the past three consecutive games. Na Sung-bum is also showing what the team wanted with 14 hits (3 home runs) in 42 at-bats in 10 games, 8 RBIs, 7 runs scored, and a 0.333 slugging percentage. Kim Tae-gun, who joined the team immediately on the 5th, has three hits and four RBIs in eight at-bats in three games.
As closer Jung Hae-young returned to the bullpen on the 2nd, there were more cards to hold a close game. Choi Ji-min, who threw 40 innings in 35 games, the most in the team, and Lim Ki-young, who threw 50 innings, the most among league bullpen pitchers due to all-weather conditions, were already having problems with physical strength.
Hwang Dae-in, who was injured during the match against KT on the 7th, was out in the first half of the year due to a ruptured hamstring, but Kim Sun-bin, who recovered from a finger fracture, is set to return. Kim Sun-bin played in four Futures League games from the 30th of last month to the 6th of this month, raising his batting sense with 5 hits in 12 at-bats and a batting average of 0.417. Now, if Panoni and Sanchez join and take the mound, the team will be somewhat complete.
Even before the season, there were many creaks in FA negotiations, foreign player replacement, and trade, but the team is still only three games apart from NC and Lotte, which are tied for fourth, and one game away from Kiwoom, which is ranked sixth, as of the 7th. Now the fuel for the chase is filling up. Will KIA be able to emit tiger energy in the hot weather.