The Kia Tigers are in crisis as they head into a fateful eight-game series. Their losing streak is getting longer, and they have a tough schedule ahead.
Kia’s eight-game series against the Doosan Bears in Gwangju was canceled due to rain on the 16th. They will start with a home game against Doosan on the 17th and end with a game against KT Wiz in Gwangju on the 24th.
Wrong start. KIA lost 3-8 to Doosan on the 17th and 4-8 on the 18th. They couldn’t get a win in two games against rival Doosan and fell out of fourth place. To make matters worse, they also lost a close home game against the LG Twins on the 19th, dropping 3-4.
KIA’s recent trend is also bad. Their losing streak has now reached six games. The mound struggles, where they gave up a total of 41 runs in six games, have been painful. Moreover, the injury absence of starting pitchers Lee Yi-ri and Mario Sanchez and starting shortstop Park Chan-ho has been felt.
After losing the first three games of the eight-game series, KIA dropped to sixth place in the standings. They are now two games behind fourth-place Doosan and one game behind fifth-place SSG Landers. KIA will attempt to snap a six-game losing streak at home against the bottom-ranked Kiwoom Heroes on the 20th. 소닉카지노
To make matters worse, the schedule ahead is a thorny one. After facing surging Doosan and leader LG, KIA has a three-game weekend series against second-place KT. KT, which is on a full offensive to secure the second spot, is a very tricky opponent for Kia. They hold a 7-2 head-to-head advantage this season, but a distinct downward trend has been a hindrance of late. KT has six wins, one draw, and three losses in its last 10 games.
Doosan is also in the midst of an eight-game road trip, fighting for a postseason berth with KIA and SSG. Doosan hasn’t been spared a tough draw either. This week, they play a whopping four games against the third-place NC Dinos. In the first of the four games, they suffered a 1-2 loss at Jamsil NC on April 19.
SSG, on the other hand, has an easier bracket this week. They defeated the eighth-ranked Hanwha Eagles 5-3 on the 19th, and will host the ninth-ranked Samsung Lions on the 20th. At the end of the week, they begin a three-game home stand against the seventh-ranked Lotte Giants.