KIA's "This Pitcher" to See Skyrocketing Market Value? "He Did a Big Job" → Manager Also Pours Out Praise! A Battle Resembling Game 7 of the Korea Series, "Dazzling Fighting Spirit"

*This content was translated by AI.

A full-scale battle that practically resembled Game 7 of the Korea Series. In the end, KIA came out on top. And this pitcher. Signs point to a surge in his market value. The hero who successfully defended a precious victory was none other than Jeon Sang-hyun (30), who delivered a spirited performance for two consecutive days.

On the 4th, KIA secured a 6-5 win over LG in an away game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

With this, following their 5-4 victory on the 3rd, KIA has taken two games out of the current three-game series, securing a winning streak.

Most importantly, KIA pushed LG down to fourth place and jumped into third. Recording 74 wins, 61 losses, and 2 draws, KIA erased the gap with the league's sole fourth-place team, LG (75 wins, 62 losses, 1 draw), to "0." With a winning percentage of 0.548, KIA leads LG (0.547) by one point in third place. Now, KIA will attempt a sweep in the matchup scheduled for 2 p.m. on the 5th.

On this day, with both teams tied at 3-3, KIA was hit with a two-run home run by Park Dong-won in the bottom of the eighth inning. It seemed as if victory was tilting toward LG.

However, KIA demonstrated remarkable resilience in the top of the ninth inning.

With runners on first and third and no outs, Kim Tae-goon hit a two-out RBI single to center field. Continuing with runners on first and third, pinch hitter Lee Ho-yeon hit an RBI single to left field. The score was tied at 5-5. Ultimately, with one out and runners on second and third, Castro drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly to left field, turning the game around to 6-5.

Then came the bottom of the ninth inning. LG's final offensive chance. The pitcher who took the mound for KIA was Jeon Sang-hyun.

It was a display of fighting spirit. In the previous game against LG on the 3rd, Jeon Sang-hyun pitched two scoreless innings, allowing one walk and one hit batter while striking out one. His pitch count at the time was 35, which was not a small number.

Ahead of this day's game, KIA Manager Lee Beom-ho said regarding Jeon Sang-hyun, "In reality, he tends to lose power after throwing more than 20 pitches. However, in the game on the 3rd, his first-pitch speed was around 142-143 km/h even after the 25th pitch. So I felt his power hadn't dropped and pushed him to go all the way."

He then emphasized regarding the appearance on the 4th, "I plan to prepare him for situations where he throws fewer than 5 to 10 pitches in the eighth inning, unless it's the final inning. The training staff says there are no issues. Since he himself said he was fine, I have been thinking of using him against about one batter if a crucial situation arises. Of course, we will use him in a winning position."

Continuing, Manager Lee stated, "If he faces about one batter on the 4th and we win, couldn't we do the same thing for three consecutive days of pitching on the 5th? I have already told the players that they are fully capable of pitching three days in a row. Throwing 35 pitches on the 3rd is a bit concerning, but he said his arm felt fine after sleeping and waking up. I plan to face about one batter in the most dangerous or important situation."

However, as a result, Manager Lee ended up changing his words. He entrusted him with the entire ninth inning, not just one batter. And the manager's conviction paid off properly. As soon as Jeon Sang-hyun took the mound in the ninth, he recorded a groundout to shortstop against Park Hae-min, then struck out Austin for a strikeout-not-out. He then fanned Moon Jung-bin with a fly ball to center field, finishing the game with three consecutive outs.

After the victory, Manager Lee said, "Our players played truly difficult games for two consecutive days, and I am grateful that they produced good results. Jeon Sang-hyun did a big job for the team both yesterday and today. It was an important timing, so I trusted him with one inning. Lee Tae-yang also came out in a crisis situation and shut it down well without allowing any runs," sparing no praise.

He continued, "The turning point was the top of the ninth inning. When Kim Tae-goon was at bat, I considered using a pinch hitter, but he had a good record against Woo Kang-hoon. Also, because he is a Veteran, I pushed him through, and he lived up to the manager's expectations. I kept worrying about when to send Kim Min-gyu in as a pinch runner. It seemed better to send him in with no outs, so I replaced him with Kim Tae-goon, and he produced a precious winning run with his quick legs. Lee Ho-yeon also properly fulfilled his role as a pinch hitter with confident swings," adding, "We were able to win thanks to the passionate support of the away fans. Thank you, and we will do our best tomorrow as well."

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*This content was translated by AI.