The most consecutive losses in the club's history, and Kiwoom was not the only starting pitcher
The most consecutive losses in the club's history, and Kiwoom was not the only starting pitcher
Blog Article
Kiwoom lost 4-9 again in the "2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League" game against the Doosan Bears at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 30th. Kiwoom, which lost 10 consecutive games due to the loss, set a new record for the most consecutive losses in the club's history, surpassing the nine consecutive losses recorded in 2009 and 2023.토토사이트
Kiwoom, which started the season with two foreign hitters (Jaciel Puig, Ruben Cadines) this season, had difficulty managing its starters as there were only foreign pitchers Kenny Rosenberg. At the beginning of the season, the lineup continued to be in a good mood as Puig and Cadines' performances revived, but soon after, the starters with only one foreign pitcher began to reveal their limits, and the entire team fell into a slump as Puig and Cadines' pace also declined.
Kiwoom, which had seven consecutive losses until the first game of the doubleheader against NC on the 17th, broke its losing streak in the second game of the doubleheader, but has since fallen back to back-to-back losses. It lost 7-13 against KIA on the 28th and lost 21 games in May alone, setting a new monthly record. On the 29th, it played an extended blood fight with KIA to escape the losing streak, but returned home after a 3-3 draw.
Kiwoom, which had been mired in nine consecutive losses, made all-out efforts to escape losing streak. Starting pitcher Kim Sun-ki pitched well with four hits, four walks and three strikeouts and two runs in five innings, while Choi Joo-hwan's third homer of the season, Lee Ju-hyung and Song Sung-moon's multi-hitters, all came out. The game continued to lead Kiwoom 4-2 through the sixth inning.
However, Kiwoom's bullpen showed signs of instability late in the game. In the top of the seventh inning, Doosan's leadoff hitter Park Gye-beom drew a walk to create a chance for the first base with no outs. Pinch hitter Kim Dae-han was caught by a fly ball to the center field, but Cave hit a tying two-run homer to bring the game back to square one. With the bases loaded with one outs, which led to Yang Eui-ji's walk, Kim Jae-hwan's walk, and Yang Seok-hwan's hit ball, Kim Min-seok hit a three-run triple to turn the game around once again. Kang Seung-ho's RBI timely hit and Park Gye-beom's RBI triple hit, sealing the game.
Kiwoom's bullpen pitcher lineup, which includes Lee Joon-woo (one scoreless inning) and Kim Seong-min (three runs in ⅓ innings), Yang Ji-yul (four runs in 0 innings), Oh Seok-joo (⅔ innings), Lee Kang-joon (one scoreless inning) and Park Yoon-sung (one scoreless inning), lost a golden opportunity to win nine consecutive games. As a result, Kiwoom has set a new record of losing 10 consecutive games for the first time in its history.
Kiwoom's starting lineup, which has only one foreign pitcher, has been pointed out as its biggest weakness so far. Except for Rosenberg and Ha Young-min, there were no reliable starting pitchers, and the pattern of losing helplessly was repeated due to massive losses from the beginning of each game. The starting ERA (5.49) is by far the lowest in the league.
However, the recent performance of Kiwoom's starting pitchers is not bad. There have been seven games in which starting pitchers have allowed less than three runs in the past two weeks, including Rosenberg (one run in six innings) against Samsung on the 20th, Ha Young-min (three runs in seven innings) against Samsung on the 21st, Kim Yeon-joo (five scoreless innings) against Samsung on the 22nd, Kim Sun-ki (one run in four ⅓ innings) against KT on the 25th, Ha Young-min (three runs in five innings) against KIA on the 27th, Kim Yoon-ha (three runs and one earned run in six innings) against KIA on the 29th, and Kim Sun-ki in the game on the day.
However, the team has never won a game in which starting pitchers allowed three or fewer runs during the period. The bullpen pitcher also remains at the bottom of the league this season. Kiwoom's ERA is 6.79, which is overwhelmingly poor compared to Kia's (5.49), which is ranked ninth. This is a fatal weakness considering that the league is moving to an environment of pitching and hitting.
Except for closer Joo Seung-woo, Kiwoom has few relievers who can trust and entrust one inning. He could have won the game if he held a two-run lead for three innings, but he gave up the game at one point. In fact, the bullpen of Kiwoom had been in a slump throughout the season just like the starting lineup, but it was not clearly visible due to the starting lineup's poor performance. Then, as the starting lineup began to stabilize, the bullpen's problems have surfaced.
In Kiwoom, where Rosenberg returns from a break against Doosan on the 30th, new foreign pitcher Raul Alcantara will return to the KBO League on the 31st. On top of that, the first-ranked left-hander Jung Hyun-woo, who was out of power due to a shoulder injury, is nearing the point of return, and it is expected that the starting lineup will soon be led by Rosenberg, Alcantara, Ha Young-min, Kim Yoon-ha and Jung Hyun-woo. If Alcantara shows as much as expected, there is room for Kiwoom's starters to be competitive enough.
On the other hand, the bullpen does not have much power to be especially strengthened. In order to improve the current situation, existing players have no choice but to rebound. Fans are watching with concern whether Kiwoom, which has been having a difficult season due to continuous problems, will be able to overcome difficulties and rebound the rest of the season.