"But the most at-bat experience, the defense is stable."
from web site
KIA Tigers forget the shock of their second consecutive defeat last weekend and seek a rebound in four consecutive away matches against KT WIZ. KIA manager Kim Jong-kook pulled out 'first baseman Kim Kyu-sung' with a shot card of opposing starting pitcher Ko Young-pyo.
KIA will play against Suwon KT on Oct. 3. KIA, which lost its second consecutive game by one point over the weekend to SSG Landers, ranked fifth, maintained its sixth place in the league with 64 wins, two draws and 65 losses this season.
KIA manager Kim Jong-kook met with reporters before the game on the 3rd and said, "The players worked hard, but unfortunately lost two games last weekend. Still, there are still 13 games left. There is still a possibility of the fifth round, and the players have not given up, so we can start again from today's game. "I don't know if it's a crisis or an opportunity for the rest of the schedule, but I think variables will come once," he said.
Coach Kim Jong-kook also praised Choi Ji-min, the national team's pitcher who took the mound against Taiwan at the Hangzhou Asian Games on the 2nd. Choi Ji-min pitched in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs and the bases loaded, and blocked a run by inducing a grounder to the first baseman.
Choi Ji-min, who also came up in the bottom of the sixth inning, faced a crisis of first and second bases with no outs due to a walk and a hit. Choi Ji-min, who caught the out count due to a bunt failure as a follow-up hitter, increased the out count by one more by inducing a grounder to third base. The South Korean bench took down Choi Ji-min and put Park Young-hyun on the mound in a crisis of two outs and runners on second and third bases. Park Young-hyun escaped from the crisis by turning the opponent's batter with a three-pitch strikeout.
Manager Kim said, "When I saw (Choi) Jimin's pitch yesterday, he threw well with courage. Overall, the ball of the national team's bullpen pitchers looked good. As I gained experience as a first-tier setup man this season, I definitely gained a lot of confidence. If you are a professional player, you should take the opportunity when it comes, but Jimin took the opportunity well this season. His pitching power has improved significantly," he said, raising his thumb.
Starting on the 3rd, KIA will play a doubleheader on the 4th and four consecutive away games in Suwon until the 5th. It could be a big opportunity from KIA's point of view as KT, which lacks starting resources, has to use alternative starting resources twice.
"Starting with Lee Eui-ri today, two foreign pitchers (Panoni and Sanchez) will take the starting mound in tomorrow's doubleheader," head coach Kim said. The replacement starting pitcher for the game on the 5th should be considered a little more. The opponent may have a bullpen day. Anyway, if our starting pitchers throw more than five innings, we will be able to play a game that can win," he said.
Meanwhile, KIA will face KT starter Ko Young-pyo in the game on the 3rd with a starting batting order leading to Park Chan-ho (striker), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Socrates (center fielder), Lee Woo-sung (right fielder), Ko Jong-wook (designated hitter), Lee Chang-jin (left fielder), Kim Tae-gun (catcher), and Kim Kyu-sung (first baseman).
Coach Kim said, "Even so, (Kim) Kyu-sung watched Ko Young-pyo's ball the most at bat (one hit and one strikeout from seven times at bat). A player who has no experience with Ko Young-pyo's ball is easily deceived by changeups, so it is not easy to cope with it. Kyu-sung has a good batting sense and stable defense recently. He explained, "Since I have accumulated some years, I will start as a first baseman today."
