“It’s an area where we are very vulnerable.”
Kiwoom won 3-1 away from home against the Hanwha Eagles at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on Tuesday. Kiwoom improved to 47 wins (60 losses) on the season.
Kim In-mum, the starting pitcher for Kiwoom, is now 2-6 with a 4.88 ERA in 17 games this season. Kim started the season as a reliever, but moved into the starting rotation in mid-April, bouncing between the first and second teams. In May, she pitched five or more innings in five of six games, but in her two starts in July, she lasted just three innings in both games.
“I want him to focus on getting outs regardless of his pitch count,” said Kiwoom coach Hong Won-ki before the game. “He’s going to be the starter, but I want him to get out of the first inning,” he said, adding, “He’s done a lot of work, but he won’t be satisfied with himself yet. We have five starters coming in and out of the lineup right now, and if we can’t lock it down, that’s a big weakness.”
Kim In-beom gave up a leadoff single to Jonathan Peraza in the top of the first inning, but then retired Kim In-hwan and Kim Tae-yeon on a fly ball and a strikeout, respectively. He then gave up a walk to Noh Si-hwan, but got Chae Eun-sung to fly out to shortstop to end the inning.
In the bottom of the second, Ahn gave up a leadoff single to Chi-hong Ahn, but retired the next three batters to end the inning.
Two runs in the top of the third inning to take a 2-1 lead. Kim In-beom walked leadoff hitter Peraza. Kim In-hwan walked and then gave up a single to Kim Tae-yeon. Runners on first and second. The Kiwoom bench moved. Kim In-beom had only thrown 41 pitches, but he immediately brought up Kim Sun-ki. Kim 파워볼게임 retired the next batter, and Kim In-beom was able to finish the game with 2⅓ innings and one run.
The pitching staff had a relay performance. Kim Sun-ki pitched 3⅔ innings, followed by Cho Sang-woo (one scoreless inning), Kim Sung-min (⅔ scoreless innings), and Joo Seung-woo (1⅓ scoreless innings) to secure the win.
While the pitching staff was strong, the bats were also focused. They added a run in the top of the fifth to take a 3-1 lead. Weiss battled back with three runs in the seventh inning, but the Kiwoom bullpen was too much for him.
“Kim Sun-ki, who came in as the second pitcher, pitched a perfect game and set the stage for the comeback,” said Kiwoom coach Hong Won-ki after the game.
“In the third inning, Park Joo-hong doubled, Lee Joo-hyung tied the game with an RBI single, and Song Sung-moon’s focused batting made the difference. Lim Byung-wook’s sacrifice fly in the fifth inning sealed the game.”
“Congratulations” to Lee Seung-won for his debut hit in the fifth inning, Hong said, “We were able to win today thanks to the support of our fans who traveled to Daejeon. Thank you.”
Kiwoom announced Ha Young-min as the starting pitcher for the 11th. Hanwha will be represented by Jamie Barria.