"No shock?" Lee Beom-ho’s leadership, another sharp rebound after a shocking loss → three consecutive comeback wins, topping August win percentage

*This content was translated by AI.

"No shock?"

On June 23 at Seoul Gocheok Sky Dome, the answer from Lee Beom-ho (45), manager of the KIA Tigers, was somewhat unexpected. Just three days earlier on the 20th, in a game against the Suwon KT Wiz, KIA had led 9-4 but surrendered six runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lose in a comeback defeat. When reporters asked, "There must have been some shock...", Manager Lee cut in sharply: "We simply lost by one run, 10-9. There was no psychological impact."

Two months later on August 23, KIA suffered another painful loss. Leading 7-2 against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok, they allowed six runs in the bottom of the ninth, including a bases-loaded walk-off home run, and lost 7-8.

Once again, Manager Lee Beom-ho remained composed. Ahead of the the 25th game against the Gwangju Lotte Giants after a day of rest, he told reporters, "I think I made a mistake at a timing when we were trying to build momentum," and added, "I believe the pitcher threw well enough. Players should forget about the game once it ends," taking responsibility on himself.

Amid the manager’s self-blame, KIA staged a sharp rebound. After winning 8-5 on the 25th thanks to Lee Ho-yeon's pinch-hit comeback walk-off bases-loaded home run in the bottom of the ninth, they defeated Lotte again 16-11 on the 26th and beat the SSG Landers 2-1 on the 29th, securing three consecutive wins. All three victories were comebacks, neatly erasing the disappointment from the Kiwoom game.

This also happened after the loss to KT in June. Starting with an 11-5 comeback win against KT on the following day, the 21st, KIA swept the road series against Kiwoom from the 23rd to the 25th for four consecutive wins. Like the ground hardening after rain, the team united tightly following the shocking defeat and turned adversity into opportunity.

Over the month of August, KIA recorded 11 wins and 4 losses in 15 games, topping all 10 teams with a monthly win percentage of 0.733. They also led the league with eight comeback victories. In their last ten games, they went 8-2, climbing from fifth place on August 15 to third place.

Few had predicted that KIA, which finished eighth last year, would reach the upper tier this season. However, based on the manager's leadership that remains unshaken even in crisis, the team is now steadily advancing toward autumn baseball for the first time in two years.

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*This content was translated by AI.