The Gwangju matchup between Lotte and KIA was not a game that could be understood simply by looking at the starting pitchers’ names.
KIA welcomed its first opponent of a six-game homestand, while Lotte had an opportunity to extend its recent surge.
With the teams’ season head-to-head record and recent form pointing in different directions, the game could ultimately be decided by late-game management.
3-Line Summary
1. KIA held the edge in its head-to-head record against Lotte
2. KIA: 7 wins, 1 tie, 4 losses; Lotte: 4 wins and 1 loss in its last 5 games
3. The 9th inning and bullpen stability were decisive numbers
KIA Had the Better Record; Lotte Brought Recent Momentum
KIA and Lotte met on August 25 at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field. Entering the game, KIA was 4th at 60 wins, 2 ties, and 50 losses, while Lotte was 6th at 50 wins, 2 ties, and 58 losses. The standings favored KIA, but the gap between the teams was 9 games, and their recent form made it difficult to declare a clear advantage for either side.
In their season head-to-head matchups, KIA led with 7 wins, 1 tie, and 4 losses. That was clearly a source of confidence for KIA. However, Lotte also went 8-4 in August, matching KIA’s record, and had gone 4-1 in its last 5 games. That was why it was difficult to conclude that the day’s game would follow the prior record alone.
Lotte had won 5 straight games, from its game against NC on the 15th through its game against Doosan on the 21st. It lost 1-3 to Doosan on the 23rd, but whether one game of offensive silence marked the end of its long surge was something to be determined on the road in Gwangju. What Lotte wanted from this game was likely less one spot in the standings than a scene showing whether its recent momentum would continue.
KIA had lost 7-8 to Kiwoom in its previous game after failing to protect a 7-2 lead in the bottom of the 9th. Reports also said that the loss had cost KIA 3rd place to LG. For that reason, in the game against Lotte, the first question was whether the bullpen could once again keep recording outs, rather than simply how much firepower the lineup possessed.
Shirakawa’s Command and Beasley’s Rebound: The Starters Were the Starting Point
Keisho Shirakawa, announced as KIA’s starter, had allowed 2 runs over 11⅓ innings in his previous two games. Against Lotte this season, he won on June 4 after pitching 5 scoreless innings, and his ERA against Lotte was reported as 0.00. On the other hand, he had issued 31 walks in 50⅔ innings this season, so his low batting average against alone was not enough to make him a pitcher who could be taken for granted.
Lotte’s key hitter was Victor Reyes. With a batting average of 0.355, 156 hits, and 79 RBIs, it was important for Shirakawa not to allow runners to reach base ahead of Reyes. A starting pitcher’s ability to stop hitters can become clearer not through strikeouts, but through how well he limits situations in which the heart of the order comes to the plate after a walk.
Lotte starter Jeremy Beasley had recorded an 8-5 record and a 4.72 ERA. He had struggled in his previous two games, allowing 15 runs over 11 innings, but in one appearance against KIA, he recorded 2 runs allowed and 11 strikeouts over 7 innings. With both recent struggles and strong pitching against a particular opponent on his record, it was difficult to predict his performance from any single statistic.
KIA’s lineup could rely on Kim Do-yeong’s power. Kim Do-yeong led the home-run category with 38 home runs on the season, and the game against Lotte was also a stage that brought him closer to a challenge for 40 home runs. However, the possibility of an individual record and a team victory do not mean the same thing. The more direct point of contention was whether Beasley could keep runners in check while avoiding extra-base hits.
The Question Left After the 5-Run Comeback Loss Was the 9th Inning
KIA’s previous loss made observers focus on the late game rather than the starting rotation. According to a KBS report, KIA’s starting rotation had posted a 2.34 ERA the previous week, but the bullpen had continued to produce situations in which leads were not protected. Regardless of how many innings the starter pitched against Lotte, it became important which pitchers faced the lineup, and in what order, after the pitching change.
Lotte was not a team that would simply wait, either. That day, Lotte sent out a starting lineup centered on Hwang Seong-bin, Na Seung-yeop, Reyes, and Han Dong-hee, while Son Seong-bin started as the 9th-place catcher despite findings suggesting a minor injury surrounding the tendon of his right middle finger. A Lotte club official explained that he had no functional problem and was in condition to play while being managed, but this was an explanation of his availability to play, not a result indicating complete recovery.
The most important numbers to watch in this matchup were not the home-run total or a single starter’s ERA. The more realistic standards for assessing the game were the 5-run lead KIA lost in the 9th inning and the baserunners both teams allowed late in games. More than the reputations of the starting pitchers, the runners left by the bullpens and one sequence of consecutive times reaching base created by the lineups could change the meaning of the Gwangju game.
References
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