The KIA Tigers look to make it back-to-back wins over the struggling Kiwoom Heroes on Tuesday, riding the momentum of Monday’s 7-3 victory. Kiwoom enters this one having lost 5 straight and sitting at 10th place – not the position you want to be in facing one of the KBO’s most experienced aces.
Starting Pitchers
Yang Hyeon-jong (KIA) – 4W 5L, 63? IP, ERA 4.12, WHIP 1.47. The veteran lefty relies on a three-pitch mix (fastball 137km/h 39%, slider 130km/h 28%, changeup 126km/h 26%) and incredible command to keep hitters off-balance. He’s 1-0 against Kiwoom this season with a 3.00 ERA in the head-to-head.
Ahn Woo-jin (Kiwoom) – 1W 3L, 39 IP, ERA 3.46, WHIP 1.23. The young righty has better raw stuff – 152km/h fastball, sharp 141km/h slider – but the 1-3 record against a team that beat him last night says everything. He’s 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in prior matchups vs KIA, so there’s intrigue here.
Key Matchup
Watch KIA’s Jung Hyeon-chang (.154 BA) vs Kiwoom’s Park Chan-hyeok (.287 BA, 25 hits). Park Chan-hyeok has been Kiwoom’s most reliable bat lately (.556 AVG over last 5 games) and will need to spark the offense early if the Heroes want to end their skid.
Team Context
KIA (4th, 39-1-33) has won 7 of their last 10 head-to-head matchups against Kiwoom. The Heroes (10th, 26-1-47) are on a 5-game losing streak with a .233 team batting average – the worst in the league right now.
Prediction: KIA wins 5-2. Yang Hyeon-jong’s experience and command give him the edge over the struggling Ahn Woo-jin. Kiwoom’s lineup simply hasn’t shown the ability to string hits together on this losing streak, and KIA’s bats are hot off yesterday’s performance. Look for Yang to go 6 solid innings while KIA’s middle of the order does enough damage early.