The KIA Tigers are on a steep upward curve. It lasted until May with a winning rate of 50%, but the power of pitching and hitting fell. It did not become a starting baseball, and Choi Hyung-woo and Socrates, who led the batters, fell into silence. The deficit widened to eight, falling to ninth place. The downward trend was more pronounced than the upward trend.
However, he has won five consecutive games since the match against Incheon SSG on July 5. He had a good record of 6 wins and 2 losses in the away match (8 games) in the Seoul metropolitan area, including LG. It succeeded in turning around in the biggest match in the first half against No. 1 LG, No. 2 SSG, and No. 1 KT since June. It jumped to sixth place in a heartbeat. Hitting, defense, and mound are all on the rise.
The first reason is the catcher Kim Tae-gun effect. He is making a brilliant contribution in offense and defense as soon as he wore the KIA uniform through a trade with Samsung on July 5. At the end of the game on the 5th, he hit an RBI with a sacrifice fly and wore a mask briefly. He arrived just before the game because he was moving after the trade, so it was just for a taste.
He wore a mask in earnest as a main catcher from the match against SSG on the 6th. He led the team to a 7-6 victory by working with Yang Hyun-jong,먹튀검증 who pitched one run in five innings. In particular, as a batter, he was active with two hits and two RBIs in four at-bats, hitting a double next to the right fielder against Kim Kwang-hyun in the second inning.
In the first game of the Suwon Series against KT on the 7th, he kept his mask until the end and led the team to a 6-2 victory. It was bullpen day and the game seemed to be twisted as starter Kim Gun-guk left the headshot. However, Kim Jae-yeol pitched two runs in four innings and the bullpen lost no runs. He had one hit and one RBI, which greatly helped the victory.
On the 8th, the KT and Suwon games calmly comforted Lee Eui-ri, who was suffering from control issues, and supported his five scoreless innings. In particular, it was impressive to see the ball mix that led to the strikeout of Hwang Jae-kyun, who was difficult, in the fifth inning with two outs and runners on first and second base, when his control was shaken. He also contributed to four consecutive wins by hitting one hit and one RBI as a batter.
On the 9th, he collaborated with right-hander Mario Sanchez, who made his KBO league debut, to win 5-1. Sanchez pitched well with 10 strikeouts, 5 hits, and 1 run in 6⅓ innings. Kim Tae-gun had no RBI, but he hit one hit and continued his hit streak for five consecutive games. The team continued its upward trend, achieving a sweep.
The mound seems to be greatly stabilized as Kim Tae-gun wears a mask. Lead, blocking, throwing, meating, and framing showed solid defensive skills as the main catcher. Pitchers were allowed to pitch with stability. In the course of five consecutive wins, the ERA of the mound was only 1.80. As a veteran, he also showed his ability to produce RBIs in the seventh or eighth batting order and connect them to the next batter.
Of course, KIA was not just Kim Tae-gun’s effect. The effects of Na Sung-bum and Kim Do-young, who returned, were also great. Na Sung-bum scored 6 home runs, a batting average of .353, 12 RBIs and 11 points in 12 games. He hit four home runs and eight RBIs in five consecutive wins. Kim Do-young dominated the game with .346, two home runs, six RBIs, and 10 steals.
On top of that, Choi Hyung-woo, who had slowed down, revived with .412, two home runs, four RBIs and five runs in five games. Socrates also recovered and transformed it into a nuclear strike. KIA will start hunting Samsung for the last three consecutive games in the first half from the 11th, with Kim Sun-bin, who returned from injury.
