Professional baseball KIA Tigers' Yoon Young-cheol (21) and Kim Do-hyun (21) combined for four scoreless innings. Kim Seok-hwan hit a home run.

KIA lost 3-10 against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in a practice game held on 22nd at Koza Shinkin Stadium in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.

Starting pitcher Yoon Young-cheol pitched two innings, striking out one and allowing no runs. He threw 30 pitches, utilizing various pitches such as 19 fastballs, 5 sliders, 3 curves, 2 changeups, and 1 cutter. His maximum fastball speed reached 141 km/h, with an average speed of 139 km/h.

Kim Do-hyun, who took the mound as the second pitcher, also showcased perfect pitching, completing two innings, striking out one and allowing no runs. He threw a total of 21 pitches, including 11 fastballs, 5 changeups, 4 curves, and 1 slider. His maximum fastball speed was 148 km/h, and his average speed recorded 146 km/h, consistently maintaining speeds in the mid-high 140s.

KIA's starting rotation for this season includes James Naile, Adam Wainwright, Yang Hyun-jong, and Yoon Young-cheol, while Hwang Dong-ha, Kim Do-hyun, and Kim Tae-hyung compete for remaining spots. Yoon Young-cheol and Kim Do-hyun left a good impression with their strong performances.

Although Yoon Young-cheol and Kim Do-hyun combined for four scoreless innings, the bullpen that followed, consisting of Kim Tae-hyung (1 inning, 3 earned runs), Lee Jung-young (⅔ inning, 5 earned runs, 4 unearned runs), Yoo Seung-cheol (1⅓ inning, 1 earned run), Kim Gi-hoon (1 inning, 1 earned run, unearned), and Choi Ji-min (1 inning, scoreless), struggled and faced difficulties.

The lineup featured Choi Won-jun (center fielder), Hong Jong-pyo (second baseman), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Lee Woo-sung (left fielder), Han Jun-soo (catcher), Byeon Woo-hyeok (first baseman), Ko Jong-wook (designated hitter), Kim Kyu-sung (shortstop), and Park Jung-woo (right fielder). Kim Seok-hwan, who appeared as a pinch hitter, hit a two-run homer in the top of the 8th inning, displaying his impressive power. Hong Jong-pyo recorded multiple hits, and Kim Do-young, Byeon Woo-hyeok, and Kim Kyu-sung each achieved multiple on-base appearances with 1 hit and 1 walk.

KIA, led by strong performances from Yoon Young-cheol and Kim Do-hyun, scored first in the game with Kim Do-young's hit and Byeon Woo-hyeok's RBI double in the top of the 3rd inning. However, in the bottom of the 5th inning, Kim Tae-hyung allowed 2 walks and 2 hits, yielding 3 earned runs, which led to KIA losing the lead. The following bullpen pitchers also allowed runs, widening the score to 1-9.

In the top of the 8th inning, KIA, trailing significantly, saw lead-off hitter Park Min draw a walk, followed by Kim Seok-hwan, who hit a two-run homer, reducing the deficit by 2 runs. KIA allowed one more run in the bottom of the 8th inning, ending the game at 3-10.

[OSEN=길준영 기자]