A shocking eight straight wins. But the five-game losing streak is even more shocking. What on earth happened to the once-fiery KIA Tigers?
KIA Tigers manager Lee Beom-ho met with reporters on the 23rd at Suwon KT Wiz Park ahead of the third game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League season against the KT Wiz and cited starting rotation struggles leading to bullpen overload as the reason for the recent consecutive losses.
Lee Beom-ho sighed deeply and said, "Too much burden goes to the bullpen pitchers. We need a starter who can go six to seven innings, but because they keep only pitching five innings, the bullpen becomes overloaded. Also, because the games themselves have been tight, fatigue accumulates. We need a pitcher who can go six to seven innings. I worry the bullpen pitchers will lose confidence."
Therefore, starter Lee Eui-ri's outing that day was important. The content aside, as Lee Beom-ho said, getting at least six innings from him was the only way to find a foothold for a rebound.
To help Lee Eui-ri pitch well for a second straight start, Lee Beom-ho suddenly chose Joo Hyo-sang, who formed a perfect battery with him in the April 17 game against Doosan at Jamsil, as the starting catcher. When asked about calling up Kim Tae-gun from the second team, he also left the message, "Saving Lee Eui-ri comes before calling up Kim Tae-gun."
But Lee Eui-ri failed to meet expectations. The game started with a two-run lead. He showed a strong start by getting table setters Choi Won-joon and Kim Min-hyeok to ground out to second base and strike out swinging, but after two outs his concentration suddenly collapsed. He allowed Kim Hyun-soo a single to center, walked Jang Sung-woo after an eight-pitch at-bat, and walked Sam Hilliard with a straight ball, creating a bases-loaded crisis, then gave up a two-run tying RBI single to Oh Yun-seok and a two-run go-ahead double to Kim Sang-su. Then, on a wild pitch with two outs and a runner on third, he allowed a one-run opposite-field RBI single to Jang Jun-won. His pitch count reached 42 in the first inning.
Because he pitched almost perfectly from the second through the fifth innings, the five runs allowed after two outs in the first inning hurt all the more. Lee Eui-ri ultimately suffered his third loss of the season (1-1) amid control problems, finishing with five innings, four hits allowed, four walks, three strikeouts, five runs allowed and 98 pitches.
The relievers who followed Lee Eui-ri failed to set the stage for a comeback. Beginning with Hong Min-kyu, who allowed one run in one inning, both Choi Ji-min (2/3 inning, one run) and Kim Geon-guk (1 1/3 innings, one run) failed to hold the opponent's scoring in check.
The batting order of Gerrid Dale (second base), Kim Ho-ryeong (center field), Kim Seon-bin (designated hitter), Kim Do-young (third base), Harold Castro (left field), Na Sung-beom (right field), Lee Ho-yeon (first base), Joo Hyo-sang (catcher) and Park Min (shortstop) scored first in the top of the first with an RBI by Kim Do-young with the bases loaded and no outs, but Castro's double play left them satisfied with just two runs in the first. After adding a run in the top of the second, they were held scoreless for a full seven innings from the third through the ninth, providing the pretext for the five-game losing streak.
With the 3-8 loss that day, KIA fell into a slump of five straight losses after eight straight wins. The .500 win-loss margin, once +3, fell to -2, putting even the postseason cutoff of fifth place in jeopardy. They are only half a game behind the group tied for sixth.
Having finished the six-game road trip in Jamsil and Suwon with one win and five losses, KIA will go down to Gwangju to play a three-game weekend series against the Lotte Giants starting on the 24th. Adam Oller is scheduled to start on the first day, and it remains to be seen whether they can end the losing streak in front of their home fans.
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