Pajuk’s eight-game winning streak, but there were definite concerns.
KIA ended its eight-game winning streak with a victory over the Incheon SSG Landers on March 3. It’s been about two years and one month since August 2021.
Third-place SSG Landers and fourth-place NC Dinos both won after their away game against Doosan was canceled due to rain on the 5th. However, the gap between fifth-place KIA and third-place NC is only two games. They are 0.5 games behind fourth-place NC. Only three games separate them from second-place KT.스포츠토토
KIA head coach Kim Jong-guk commented on the team’s recent form: “Overall, it’s good. We don’t have any injured players except Sanchez, which is encouraging.”
Kim continued, “If we win, other clubs will do the same. The pitchers believe that if they hold on, the hitters can come back. The batters have the mindset that if the pitchers don’t give up runs, they can come back. It’s a good team spirit.”
KIA’s biggest concern is the starting lineup. It’s also the only one. “Aside from the starting pitchers, the bullpen is doing so well right now. They’re going up there and keeping the runs to a minimum, and they’re keeping the runs in check, so I think the hitters are getting a boost. Right now, I don’t think we have any except for the starting pitcher.”
“I’m a little worried about the starting lineup with Sanchez out. Lee Yi-ri joined the team on Sunday (March 3), but I think he needs to improve a little more.” Lee was placed on the disabled list with shoulder pain after the KT Wiz game on March 22. He returned to action against SSG on March 3, but struggled a bit, allowing four runs on four hits (two home runs) in three innings with three walks and four strikeouts.
Kim said, “Fortunately, there was no pain after pitching. I threw in the low to mid-80s, but I think I worried a lot this time. Next time, I think I’ll be able to pitch better if I’m more relaxed.”
A lot of teams go on a winning streak and then lose. Fatigue can set in, and injuries that have been nagging at the team can get worse. “It doesn’t matter if the streak is broken and we win right away,” says Kim. Players are less physically demanding when things are going well, but when they lose, they are bound to fall off,” Kim said, warning against the ‘streak aftereffect’.
The batting lineup is the best it has been since 2017, when the team won the title. In the end, mound management became the key to preventing the ‘aftereffect’. “In the games that we can win for sure, we will use Lim Ki-young in the early and middle innings and the rest of the pitchers in short innings,” Kim said.
Kim set a target of four wins for the week’s seven games before the fifth game was canceled. He emphasized that the team would focus on accumulating wins rather than fighting for position.
“I think we need to win four out of seven games to move up, but the important thing is to win as many winnable games as we can before the Asian Games. There is not much difference in the standings and it will change at the end of the day. For now, we need to win the games we can win.”