Kiwoom Heroes is unable to get out of the swamp of a terrible losing streak.
Kiwoom fell into a five-game losing streak after losing 3-6 against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil on the 11th. The season record was 3 wins and 6 losses, staying in 7th place with the KIA Tigers (2 wins and 4 losses). At the beginning of the game, they were leading 3-1 and wanted to find a breakthrough, but Choi Won-tae gave up timely hits to Heo Kyung-min and Kim Jae-hwan in a row in the 5th inning, and the score was tied 3-3. And in the bottom of the 7th inning, in the crisis with one out and bases loaded, Yang Eui-ji completely lost the victory when he was hit with a double at the right time with 2 RBIs on the right field.
In fact, the atmosphere at the beginning of the season was not bad.안전놀이터 Kiwoom had a pleasant start to first place, recording a win rate of 0.750 with 3 wins and 1 loss until the 5th. However, last weekend, he suffered a major internal injury as he lost three consecutive matches against the NC Dinos in Changwon. It was painful to see Ahn Woo-jin, Eric Yokishi, and Ariel Hurado make 1st, 2nd, and 3rd starts and lose completely. Kiwoom quickly fell from 1st to 7th in just 5 games, and the atmosphere subsided.
Kiwoom coach Hong Won-ki made a strong decision to change the coach at the point of 4 consecutive losses. It was a very early judgment as he had played the opening 8 games, but it was an attempt to find a breakthrough. Prior to the game against Doosan in Jamsil on the 11th, Kiwoom lowered batting coach Kang Byung-sik to the second team, and entrusted hitting coach Oh Yun to the main team, aiming to refresh the atmosphere.
Coach Hong said, “The opposing team’s pitcher might have had good pitches, but the offense couldn’t find a way out. I think it became a vicious cycle as the defense also lost concentration and the offense continued badly. You have to score a lot to win the game.” I’m making various attempts, but it’s a pity that the results haven’t come out yet, “he expressed his frustration.
Kiwoom showed a strong will to escape from the losing streak by hitting 11 hits against Doosan, but the result was defeat. At the beginning of the 9th inning, Doosan closer Hong Kun-hee waved and caught up to 4-6, and Lee Jung-hoo, the last batsman, stood at bat in the continued 2nd and 3rd base opportunities. If it was Kiwoom when the atmosphere was good, Lee Jeong-hoo would have changed the flow of the game by doing a good job as a solver at this time, but the game ended as Lee Jung-hoo stopped with a floating ball in right field. Lee Jung-hoo was silent on this day with no hits in 5 at-bats.
In fact, Lee Jung-hoo accounts for more than half of Kiwoom’s power. When Lee Jung-hoo’s bat starts to catch fire, Kiwoom’s offensive power becomes even more frightening. However, Lee Jeong-hoo had a batting average of 0.172 (5 hits in 29 at-bats) and an OPS of 0.560 in his last 7 games. Even at the beginning of the season, it is far from his performance when in normal condition.
Director Hong still doesn’t worry too much about Lee Jung-hoo. He diagnosed it as temporary silence, saying, “I didn’t play a few games before because of back discomfort, but the batting speed didn’t drop. It’s just the difference between whether it leads to a hit or not. It’s not enough to talk about good or bad hitting.”
Both Lee Jung-hoo’s silence and Kiwoom’s 5-game losing streak remain tasks that must be cut off as soon as possible. Can Kiwoom succeed in reversing the atmosphere against Doosan on the 12th with Jang Jae-young as the 5th starter? A hero who can pierce the clogged blood must appear as soon as possible so that the ranking competition can continue at the top.