
The Kia Tigers have extended their winning streak to eight games with a little help from the heavens.
The Tigers cruised to a 7-0 rain-cold victory over the NC Dinos in Game 11 of the 2024 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) Baseball League at Gwangju-Gia Champions Field on Thursday. Starting pitcher Cam Aldred tossed a five-hit shutout. Choi Won-jun had two hits and Kim Sun-bin hit a solo shot to lead the offense.
NC sent eight right-handed hitters to the plate to snap a nine-game losing streak against KIA. Only leadoff hitter Park Min-woo (second base) was a lefty in the starting lineup. Kwon Hee-dong (left fielder), Park Gun-woo (right fielder), Davidson (first baseman), Kim Hwi-jip (shortstop), Kim Jae-hwan (center fielder), Park Han-yeol (designated hitter), Kim Hyung-joon (catcher), and Seo Ho-cheol (third baseman) were all right-handed. The plan was to take advantage of Kia left-hander Aldred.
However, the defense held them back.
In the bottom of the second inning, two crucial errors proved to be the difference. In the bottom of the second inning, KIA threatened to put runners on first and second when Han Jun-soo’s grounder was missed by first baseman Davidson. NC pitcher Shin Min-hyuk hit Byun Woo-hyuk with a pitch to load the bases. The next batter, Park Chan-ho, induced a grounder to third base, but this time, Seo Ho-chul’s grounder to first base scored two runs.
After scoring two runs, the KIA bats came together. Socrates drew a walk to load the bases again. Shin Min-hyuk walked with elbow pain, 온라인카지노사이트 and when Lee Joon-ho came up, Choi Won-joon singled to right to load the bases. With runners on first and third, Kim Do-young singled to right to plate the third run and make it 5-0. The second inning was a scary one.
In the third inning, Kim Sun-bin led off with a single to right, Byun Woo-hyuk followed with a double to left, and Park Chan-ho added a run with a single to right. In the bottom of the fifth, with one out and a 2-0 count, Kim took a three-pitch fastball from Lee Jun-ho over the left field wall. It was his seventh home run of the season and moved him one step closer to his first career double-digit home run total.
NC’s right-handed line was shut down by Aldred.
He had just two hits and one walk through five innings. He struck out seven times and never had a chance. Not a single runner stole second base. In the end, the heavens didn’t help him and he lost his 10th straight game against KIA. Aldred mixed sweepers and changeups with his fastball, utilizing the strike zone to the left, right, and up and down to keep the game scoreless.
The game was halted at 8:20 p.m. in the bottom of the fifth inning due to a torrential downpour in the Champions Field area. It was enough rain to turn the field into a sea of water. Tarpaulins were laid out, but the field was so wet that even if the rain stopped, it would be difficult to play. The rain stopped, but the umpires decided that the field was too wet to continue and called a rain delay. Aldred picked up his third win of the season with a five-inning complete game shutout.