Can the KIA Tigers, who are suffering from bad injuries, achieve a miracle of advancing to the postseason?
KIA lost 3-5 against KT Wiz in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 5th, falling into a 2-game losing streak. The gap with NC Dinos (70 wins, 2 draws, 53 losses), tied for 4th place, and SSG Landers (70 wins, 3 draws, 63 losses) widened to 4 games. The possibility of advancing to the postseason has become even lower.
KIA, who suffered two consecutive losses, recorded 66 wins, 2 draws, and 67 losses, collapsing the .500 winning percentage. It was unfortunate that Kim Gyu-seong, who played shortstop in place of starting shortstop Park Chan-ho, who was injured in the game against KT on the 4th, made a fatal mistake. Ace Yang Hyun-jong came out, but was shaken by Kim Gyu-seong’s error and ended up losing the game with 5 hits (1 home run), 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, and 5 runs (3 earned runs) in 6 innings.
KIA’s key players are suffering injuries one after another at the most critical time. First of all, Na Seong-beom, who showed off his hot hitting skills with a batting average of .365 (81 hits in 222 at-bats), 18 home runs, 57 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.098 in 58 games this season, suffered a hamstring injury in the game against LG on the 19th of last month and was out of action. He was told his rehabilitation would take 10 to 12 weeks.
Subsequently, Choi Hyeong-woo, the most senior member of the team who had filled Na Seong-beom’s vacancy, was also injured. Choi Hyeong-woo, who showed age-defying performance this season with a batting average of .302 (130 hits in 431 at-bats) in 121 games, 17 home runs, 81 RBIs, and an OPS of .887, fractured his left clavicle when he tripped over first baseman Park Byeong-ho’s foot in a game against KT on the 24th of last month. I was diagnosed. His rehabilitation is expected to take approximately four months.
Despite losing two key hitters, KIA did not suffer too much and maintained a performance that would allow it to aim to advance to the postseason. However, in the game against KT on the 4th, shortstop Park Chan-ho, who had shown good performance with a batting average of .301 in 130 games this season (136 hits in 452 at-bats), 3 home runs, 52 RBIs, 73 runs, 30 steals, and an OPS of .734, hit KT starter Seon-woo Lee’s second pitch at 138 km/h. He was struck in the left forearm by a two-seamer and suffered a comminuted fracture of his left ulna. He needed 12 weeks to recover, so he was effectively ruled out for the season.
KIA, with three key players leaving, is lacking the momentum to chase down top teams. However, coach Kim Jong-guk said in an interview before the game, “Even when (Choi) Hyung-woo and (Na) Seong-beom were not there, the players did not fall behind and did well. There are now about 10 games left, and I asked (Kim) Sunbin and (Yang) Hyeonjong, ‘Let’s have the players do their best until the end and play a winning game.’ Now, it will be difficult to move up to a higher ranking than last year, but I will not give up and try until the end until the postseason elimination is confirmed,” he said, reinforcing his determination not to give up on the challenge of advancing to the postseason until the end.
If KIA loses 6 of the 9 remaining games, it will be eliminated from the postseason. Even if the team wins all remaining games, it has become impossible to advance to the postseason on their own. In order for KIA to advance to the postseason, it must win as many games as possible in the remaining games and look at the results of the games between Doosan in 3rd place and SSG and NC in tied 4th place. LG, ranked 1st, has already confirmed its league championship, and KT, ranked 2nd, also decided to advance to the postseason with a win that day.토토사이트
The only positive thing is that KIA has many games left against rival teams. KIA must play one more game against Doosan, two more games against NC, and one more game against SSG. If we win all of these games, there is a good chance that we will achieve a major turnaround.
Can KIA, which is missing Na Seong-beom, Choi Hyeong-woo, and Park Chan-ho due to injuries, achieve a miracle at the end of the season? KIA fans are eagerly rooting for the team to advance to the miraculous postseason.