In the end, walks were the problem again.
Lee Eui-ri (KIA Tigers) started the season's third game against the KT Wiz at Suwon KT Wiz Park on May 23, 2026, in the Shinhan SOL KBO League and struggled through 5 innings, allowing 4 hits, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts and 5 runs, facing the threat of a loss.
The game started with a 2-run lead. He got off to a great start by retiring table-setters Choi Won-joon and Kim Min-hyeok with a second baseman grounder and a swing-and-miss strikeout, but after 2 outs his concentration sharply wavered. Kim Hyun-soo hit a single to center, Jang Sung-woo drew an 8-pitch walk, and Sam Hilliard was issued a straight walk, loading the bases and creating a bases-loaded crisis; O Yun-seok followed with a 2-run game-tying RBI single, and Kim Sang-su delivered a 2-run go-ahead double. Then, with 2 outs and a runner on third after a wild pitch, Jang Jun-won hit an RBI single to right.
Lee Eui-ri ended the inning by getting Lee Kang-min to fly out to right, but he had already given up 5 runs. He threw 42 pitches in the first inning.
Trailing 3-5 in the bottom of the second, he got the leadoff batter Choi Won-joon to hit a grounder to second base on the first pitch, helped by a play from second baseman Jared Dale. After issuing a walk to the following batter Kim Min-hyeok, he retired Kim Hyun-soo on a third-base foul pop and struck out Jang Sung-woo swinging to end the inning.
Lee Eui-ri settled down starting in the bottom of the third. He retired leadoff hitter Hilliard on a first-base grounder, O Yun-seok on an 8-pitch swinging strikeout, and Kim Sang-su on a fly out to right for his first 1-2-3 inning. In the bottom of the fourth, he walked leadoff batter Jang Jun-won, but showcased his crisis-management ability by inducing a shortstop-second baseman-first baseman double play on Lee Kang-min and retiring Choi Won-joon on a second-base grounder.
Still trailing 3-5 in the bottom of the fifth, Lee Eui-ri retired the heart of the order—Kim Min-hyeok, Kim Hyun-soo and Jang Sung-woo—on 14 pitches to complete five innings.
Lee Eui-ri left the game after handing the ball to Hong Min-gyu in the bottom of the sixth while trailing 3-5. He threw 98 pitches.
Lee Eui-ri's pregame record was 4 games, 1 win, 2 losses, 7.24 ERA. In his most recent start on May 17 at Jamsil against Doosan, he earned his first win of the season with 5 shutout innings, allowing 5 hits, 2 walks and striking out 8. Manager Lee Beom-ho said his partner then was Joo Hyo-sang and he also started Joo Hyo-sang as the starting catcher this game, but it had little effect. If the game ends this way, Lee Eui-ri will take his third loss of the season and KIA will fall to a five-game losing streak.
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