The KIA Tigers, who supplemented their strength by taking three days off, continued their five-game winning streak, reducing the magic number to “5” to win the regular season.
KIA defeated the Lotte Giants 10-0 in the professional baseball 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League home game at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 12th.
KIA, which won 80 games with four consecutive wins on the 9th, posted its 81st win (50 losses and two draws) of the season on the 12th after a sweet break.
The gap with the second-place Samsung (75 wins, 57 losses, 2 draws) was kept at 6.5 games, but the magic number to win the regular season was reduced by one more.
If KIA wins five games in the remaining 11 games, it will win the regular season on its own and go straight to the Korean Series. 먹튀검증
Even if second-ranked Samsung loses, the magic number will decrease.
It is also encouraging that foreign pitcher Eric Lauer, who has been sluggish so far, played his first “no-go game” in his sixth appearance on the Korean stage.
On this day, Lauer stopped six innings with one hit, one walk, and nine strikeouts, including a perfect one in the fourth inning and a no-hitter until the fifth inning, securing his second win (3 losses) of the season.
While Lauer overpowered Lotte’s batters with a fast ball over 150 kilometers per hour and a curve of 120 kilometers per hour, KIA’s batters blasted Lotte’s mound.
In the bottom of the first inning, leadoff hitter Park Chan-ho sent a hit to left-center and sprinted to settle on second base.
Park Chan-ho, who headed to third base when Socrates Brito grounded out in front of second base, homered with Kim Do-young’s sacrifice fly to left field.
An additional point soon came out.
In the second inning, Lee Chang-jin hit a two-run double next to the third baseman with one out and runners on the second and third bases, which were made with consecutive hits by Kim Sun-bin and Lee Woo-sung and Kim Tae-gun’s sacrifice bunt.
In the following one out and second base, Park Chan-ho hit a timely hit.
Lotte also made a fatal mistake.
KIA made the second and third bases with one out in the fifth inning with Kim Do-young’s double to right field, Na Sung-bum’s walk, and opponent starter Kim Jin-wook’s wild pitch.
Kim Jin-wook induced Kim Sun-bin to ground out to shortstop, but Lotte shortstop Park Seung-wook made a bad pitch at home, and Kim Do-young and Na Sung-bum stepped home in turn.
KIA added one run with Socrates’ double to left in the sixth inning following Park Chan-ho’s hit to the middle.
KIA captain Na Sung-bum hit a solo home run over the left wall in the seventh inning.