Where did KIA's powerful bullpen, 'the bottom of the rescue ERA 6.23', go? → Cho Sang-woo and Jung Hae-young collapsed
Where did KIA's powerful bullpen, 'the bottom of the rescue ERA 6.23', go? → Cho Sang-woo and Jung Hae-young collapsed
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The bullpen of the KIA Tigers continues to hold back. He missed the game he had held without even allowing a seven-point lead. The bullpen, which was powerful last season, disappeared.메이저놀이터
KIA lost 10-11 away game of 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, Seoul on Sunday. The team had been leading 10-3 until the top of the eighth inning, but lost eight points in the bottom of the eighth inning. The team missed the opportunity to get closer to the winning-loss margin of -1 with the goal of sweeping the three consecutive games. With 16 wins and 19 losses (win-loss ratio of 0.457), the team again became the winning-loss margin of -3.
Last season, the KIA Tigers' bullpen was powerful. He has displayed stellar performance since he ranked third in the league with 4.98 earned run average (ERA) in relief. Although Jang left for LG through a free agent contract, he had confidence that he could make up for it to some extent because he brought an alternative named Cho Sang-woo.
However, when I opened the lid, it was the opposite. KIA had a 6.23 ERA in relief this season. It is the lowest among the 10 teams. According to Statistics Korea, the relief WAR (contribution to victory over substitute players) is only 0.08. Considering that the average relief WAR is 1.45, it is below average. The Hanwha Eagles' relief WAR, which ranks first in the league, is ranked second with 4.03, while the LG Twins' relief WAR is ranked third with 3.91. The KT Wiz ranks first with 4.12 on average.
Against this backdrop, the actual game is quite different from the original plan. "It's not going to go my way, but I will definitely use the must-win group for the game that needs to be won, and if it feels a bit difficult, I will give the must-win group a break. I am thinking of allowing the players in the must-win group to play 60 to 65 innings. I think it would be the most important thing to maintain this level of performance as the number is not too much of a burden," he said, but things didn't go as planned. The 7-point game quickly became a 2-point game, and the must-win group was quickly deployed.
As a result, it seemed that they were not properly prepared. Cho Sang-woo showed difficulty in controlling the ball with two walks and one strikeout and two runs in ⅓ innings without hitting, and even closer Jung Hae-young became a losing pitcher with one hit and one walk in ⅓ innings.
Therefore, the more bullpen pitchers there are, the better. Lim Ki-young is moving down to the second division to adjust, while left-hander Kim Ki-hoon is also taking the mound in the Futures League, enhancing his sense of play in the upcoming games. As he recorded no strikeouts and no runs in one ⅓ against Lotte in the Futures League on Saturday, his last appearance, he will likely ease the burden on left-handers Choi Ji-min and Lee Joon-young.