The Kia Tigers' regular-season success this season has been fueled by the bats before the mound.
Kia leads the team in batting average (0.301), runs scored (818), RBI (778), and on-base percentage (0.462) through 17 games.
On the mound, the team's alternate starters have stepped up to fill the injury void.
When No. 4 Lee Yi-ri went down with elbow soreness, Hwang Dong-ha stepped in to fill the void, going 5-6 with a 4.39 ERA to date, while Kim Do-hyun has started nine games in place of Yoon Young-chul since mid-July, going 2-3 with a 5.45 ERA.
But even with the firepower of the bats and the success of the relievers, Kia's dominance would not have been possible without the bullpen's “protection baseball.
That's why Kia left-handed ace Yang Hyun-jong said after the team clinched first place in the regular season on July 17, “The middle pitchers have been struggling this season.”
“Hwang Dong-ha and Kim Do-hyun did a good job, but there were times when I felt uneasy in the beginning. However, it was the middle pitchers who helped us turn the game around,” he said, 파워볼실시간 adding, ”They did their best to pitch and protect us in an important and stressful game.”
Yang added, “Even though the starting pitchers often went down early and the middle pitchers had to fill in, our middle pitchers were able to go out and pitch consistently without getting sick.”
In fact, this season, KIA's pitching staff had the second-fewest quality starts (six or more innings of three earned runs or less) in the league at 39, but the highest save percentage at .297 (43/145).
Kia's late-game (7th-9th inning) ERA of 4.27 was also the lowest among the 10 teams. The same goes for their ERA in extra innings (1.27).
Jeon Sang-hyun (17 holds), Kwak Do-gyu (16 holds), Jang Hyun-sik (15 holds), and Choi Ji-min (11 holds) were solid from the back, while Jeong Jung-young (30 saves) was the back door.
The youngest pitcher to reach 100 career saves, Jung is aiming to become the first Tiger to do so in 26 years since Lim Chang-yong in 1998.
“It's great to have 30 saves in the season and become the youngest player to reach 100 career saves, but I think it's even more valuable because I did it while the team was in first place,” Jung said through the organization.
“Now that I've won the championship, I understand why everyone is trying to win it,” Jung said. ”In the Korean Series, I'm going to go up there and stop them. If I'm needed, I'll protect the team's victory at all costs.”
Jeon Sang-hyun said, “I played a closing role during the season and came back to the middle, but it wasn't hard,” and reflected that the experience made him more determined.
“I was excited every time I saw the leaderboard during the season,” he said, ”but I can't be satisfied with that, I have to win the Korean Series.