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'First three-game winning streak on opening day in nine years'
The Kia Tigers continued their upward trend with their first opening three-game winning streak in nine years since 2015.
The Lee Bum-ho-led Kia Tigers won the second game of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League season against the Lotte Giants 8-2 on Sunday at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field.
With the win, KIA extended its winning streak to three games to open the season. The team's opening three-game winning streak was the first in 3283 days since March 28, 2015, against the Gwangju LG Electronics and April 1, 2015, against the Incheon SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers), extending its opening streak to six.
The star of the game was, of course, starting pitcher James Nail. Nail showed off his arsenal of six pitches, including his signature sweeper, two-seam, cutter, fastball, changeup, and curveball, and earned the win in his KBO debut with six innings, five hits (one home run), one walk, nine strikeouts, and one earned run.
At the plate, Park Chan-ho, who took over the leadoff spot, went 3-for-5 with a home run and an RBI, Socrates Brito had four hits, including two doubles, and Lee Woo-sung went 2-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored. Choi Hyung-woo, who hit a two-run shot in the first inning, moved into sole possession of fourth place on the KBO's career home run list.
Kia pounced on Lotte starter Na Gyun-ahn from the bottom of the first inning. They scored six runs, including a two-run shot by Choi Hyung-woo, to give Nail, who was making his first start of the season, a boost.
After Lotte cut the deficit to one run each in the top of the sixth and seventh innings, the KIA bats didn't stand still. In the bottom of the seventh, Lee Woo-sung, who was on second and third, took two pitches from Choi Yi-joon and hit a single to center field, bringing home Kim Do-young from third and Socrates from second. With the game tilted toward another KIA, Kwak Do-gyu in the top of the eighth and Kim Dae-yoo in the top of the ninth pitched scoreless innings to keep Lotte at bay.
After the game, Lee Beom-ho said, "It was a game where the batters showed great concentration in the early innings. It was great to see Choi Hyung-woo score a leadoff double in the bottom of the first inning and then score more runs in subsequent chances," said Lee.
"Nail, who started today (Nov. 27), pitched a perfect game and did a great job matching up with the batters. He had good movement on his two-seam and sweeper, and his changeup against lefties was very effective. He had good command of his pitches," he added.
"The relievers who came up for the first time this season, such as Jang Hyun-sik and Kim Dae-yoo, after the nail went down, also showed that they managed their physical condition well by pitching stably despite their long absence," Lee said.
"I think we are getting good results because all the players are playing their roles well. I hope they can maintain their current form, and I would like to thank the fans for their support for the players' play today."
Meanwhile, Kia will start Lee Yi-ri on the 28th as they look for their fourth straight win and series sweep of the season. Lotte has announced Lee In-bok as the starter.