Description
Thanks to this victory, Kia has 18 wins and seven losses overall for this season. The team is the only team in the league with a winning percentage of .720, widening its game gap with second-ranked NC to three games, although it is still early in the season. The achievement is all the more significant as the team has overcome unfavorable factors such as injury early in the season. Analysts say that the team is benefiting from strengthening its player base, which it had made consistent efforts ahead of this season. The team has stabilized its mood by silencing various unfavorable factors through manager Lee Bum-ho's friendly leadership.
The last time KIA finished its first 25 games with more than 18 wins was in 2017. At that time, KIA's bullpen seemed a little unstable, but it was able to overcome the crisis by winning every day of the one-two punch of Hector Noesi and Yang Hyun-jong. The batting line also showed cohesion with the core players, including Choi Hyung-woo and Na Ji-wan. KIA was able to beat Doosan's strong pursuit at the end of the season thanks to its good early run, and finally laughed at the end by achieving the unified title.
However, Kia is not without anxiety factors at the moment. It lasted well for a month after the opening, but problems are also being revealed. The bullpen, which had been like an iron castle for about three weeks since the opening, has been shaking recently. Overall, bullpen pitchers' ERA has risen a lot. There is an analysis that this is related to frequent appearances. Basically, because they won a lot, they consumed a lot of the must-win group, and as the starting pitchers' innings digestion was slightly different from the prestige of the league's No. 1 team, bullpen pitchers' portion of innings digestion increased.
In the batting lineup, some players, including Kim Do-young's great performance, are steadily doing well, but Choi Hyung-woo and Socrates Brito, who need to be solved at the center line, are in relatively poor batting condition. In the game on the 23rd, the two players won with timely hits in the 10th inning, but in fact, the failure of the two players to solve the opportunity that came during the regular inning was one of the reasons for the close game.
In such a situation, it is comforting that Jiwon is on standby. Na Sung-beom (35), the team's main hitter, and Lee Eui-ri (23), the next-generation ace, are the main characters. Na Sung-beom was rehabilitating without being able to play in the opening game due to an injury to his right hamstring in the exhibition game. Lee Eui-ri was removed early after feeling pain in his elbow during the match against LG on April 10. He was diagnosed with a sprained elbow muscle and is currently undergoing rest and rehabilitation.
Fortunately, it was not a serious injury that required an absence of two to three months. First of all, Na is currently undergoing running and batting training. Ahead of the match against Kiwoom in Gocheok on Sunday, KIA manager Lee Bum-ho said, "Na did not accompany him on the away match," explaining the training situation and the final task that is currently underway.
Simple running may be okay, but baseball players are not track and field athletes. As players have to draw primarily around the base, rather than running in a straight line, their hamstrings can be strained during the turnaround process. If such complicated movements are okay, the coach plans to call up the players. "I don't think we need many actual games in the Futures League," Lee said. If so, he could come back as early as next week or early May.
Lee, who expected to be absent for two to three weeks at the time of his departure, is slowly making a comeback. There have been no major problems in the rehabilitation process so far. "We are expecting a return in early May," Lee said. Currently, Kim Geon-guk has been selected as a substitute (April 21) for Lee. Assuming that all games are played normally and returned to the rotation stage, the next starting pitchers will be on April 27 and May 3.
Lee explained that he has yet to decide on the starting pitcher for April 27. "I think we can use the alternative starting pitcher once more," Lee said. In other words, Kim Geon-guk or Hwang Dong-ha will start on April 27, and Lee Eui-ri will rejoin the rotation on May 3. Although it is not clear yet, it is clear that this is the most ideal scenario for KIA. Attention is focusing on whether the two players will be able to roll well in the wagon called KIA. Not surprisingly, having power is better than not having power.
BY: 토토사이트 순위