The Kia Tigers bullpen is back in full force.

Kia won 2-0 against the Kiwoom Heroes of the 2024 KBO Baseball World Series at the Gocheok Dome in Seoul on March 13. The bullpen was able to hold on to two runs in the top of the fifth inning, thanks to Park Chan-ho’s infield single to center field and Socrates’ RBI single to second base in the top of the eighth inning. Starter James Nail earned his 10th win of the season.

Nail lasted just five innings. He threw 86 pitches, scattering four hits, striking out six and walking none. He could have pitched the sixth inning, but he chose to finish the fifth inning in consideration of his next start on Sunday (Jamsil LG Electronics). There were trusted axes here. The bullpen has regained its strength in August.

Kwak Do-kyu followed Batong with 14 pitches, striking out one and walking three with one strikeout. Jang Hyun-sik pitched a perfect seventh inning with 11 pitches and two strikeouts. In the eighth, Jeon Sang-hyun took the mound and continued his no-hit streak, striking out one and walking none on 15 pitches. In the ninth, Jeong Jung-young, who returned to the mound, pitched a perfect ninth inning with eight pitches.

The four relievers combined for a perfect four innings with only one walk.

Kia relied heavily on their bullpen to give them the lead in the opening game. If the starters could get through five innings or so, Jeon Sang-hyun, Choi Ji-min, Kwak Do-gyu, Jang Hyun-sik, and others would close out the rest of the innings. 토토사이트 순위 The bullpen was overloaded and faltered a bit in June and July due to frequent appearances.

But by August, the bullpen was rebuilt. Jang Hyun-sik, the closer, has shown off his closer’s stuff in his last 10 games, throwing 10 innings and not allowing a single run. Jeon Sang-hyun, who served as a stopgap closer, has also been effective, with a 2.45 ERA in 10 games and 11 innings. Kwak Do-kyu, who once struggled, has a 1.08 ERA in 10 games with one run allowed. Choi Ji-min lost his confidence and was sent down to the second team, but Kwak Do-gyu filled the void as the left-handed closer.

The bullpen has been especially strong with the return of closer Jung Hae-young from a shoulder injury.

He pitched four scoreless games, including his first save in his comeback, and his trademark heavy fastball and forked delivery made him a solid closer. Left-handers Lee Joon-young and Kim Dae-yu have made their presence felt in one-point relief, while chaser Kim Ki-hoon, who studied abroad in the United States, has also been helping to close out innings with a different delivery.

Since Jung’s return last week, the bullpen ERA in six games is 2.59, which ranks first out of 10 teams. The bullpen’s recovery has been invaluable to the defense going forward. With the offense in a slump, it’s imperative that the bullpen is able to protect the bases. If the starters can go five or six innings and keep the game even, the bullpen can take care of business. It will be interesting to see if the bullpen can protect the lead.