The KIA Tigers tasted a bitter defeat against the leader LG Twins. The lucky no game in the rain, where 8 runs were lost the previous day, 꽁머니 did not come out again. In particular, the infield laboratory of ‘Han Man’s Table’, which came out of the game in the second half, was operated. Starting with the unconventional 3rd baseman Lee Chang-jin card, shortstop Kim Do-young and 2nd baseman Park Chan-ho came up with a combination, but it led to a series of defensive misplays.

KIA lost 2-6 against Gwangju LG on August 9th. With the defeat on this day, KIA was threatened with a 50% win rate again with 44 wins, 2 draws and 44 losses in the season.

On this day, KIA raised Lee Eui-ri to the starting mound. Eui-Ri Lee threw a 150km/h fastball to Min-Sung Kim at the beginning of the 2nd inning in a crisis with 2nd out and 3rd base.

KIA, which was being dragged, began to shake its defense in the beginning of the 5th inning. In the beginning of the 5th inning, lead hitter Park Hae-min gave up an infield hit in front of the shortstop, and Hong Chang-ki’s ground ball in front of the first baseman was caught by first baseman Choi Won-joon, leading to a safe 1st and 2nd base crisis. Afterwards, KIA took a breather by catching second base runner Park Hae-min from third base when the follow-up hitter Moon Seong-ju hit a bunt.

However, Kim Hyun-soo’s ground ball hit between 1st and 2nd base led to a catch error by the 2nd baseman, and Hong Chang-ki, the second base runner, dug into the home. Second baseman Kim Gyu-seong failed to properly catch a ball that was slightly hit by Choi Won-joon’s glove. In addition, it was a picture that allowed an additional run as the ball bounced farther while touching the refracted ball with the leg.

At the end of the 6th inning, KIA replaced Kim Gyu-seong with pinch hitter Lee Chang-jin at bat. And in the defense at the beginning of the 7th inning, Lee Chang-jin took over the defense of the third baseman. Although Lee Chang-jin was an infielder, it was an unexpected choice because he mainly played outfield defense in the first team after being discharged from the army. In addition, Kim Do-young had to move to shortstop and Park Chan-ho to second base to change the entire defense.

The results were not good. At the beginning of the 7th inning, Jung Joo-hyun’s batted ball headed straight for third baseman Lee Chang-jin in a crisis with one company on first and second base. As Lee Chang-jin failed to catch the rather fast frontal ball, the ball flowed toward shortstop Kim Do-young. Kim Do-young caught the ball and immediately threw it to second base, but it led to a fatal bad throw. The result of the inning ending due to a double hit by the third baseman turned into an additional run.

Third baseman Lee Chang-jin’s card caused a chain transfer between Yoo Do-young and 2 Chan-ho, and the result was the worst

At the end of the 7th inning, Choi Hyung-woo’s 2-run home run led the KIA to a two-to-four two-run chase. However, KIA was again shaken in defense. Oh Ji-hwan’s ground ball hit second baseman Park Chan-ho while he chose forward defense in the crisis of 1 out 2 and 3 base. Park Chan-ho, who caught this ball, immediately chose to throw home, but it became a bad throw and allowed another run. In the ensuing crisis of 1st, 1st and 3rd base, Moon Bo-kyung’s sacrificial floating ball came out and practically put a wedge in LG’s victory.

As a result, the third baseman Lee Chang-jin took out an unconventional card, leading to the result that the entire infield was shaken. There was also a mistake by Park Chan-ho, who had no choice but to make a home throw from the second baseman’s direction. Forming an experimental infield team in the second half of the match was not an easy choice to understand from the outside.

Above all, as the season goes on, the limit of the ‘first baseman Choi Won-joon’ card is gradually revealed. It is also true that Choi Won-joon, who is more awkward in the infield defense than the outfield, shows regret in handling the first base hit. Commentator Lee Dae-hyeong, who relayed the Gwangju match, also pointed out Choi Won-joon’s inexperience in handling the first baseman’s frontal batted ball.

In the end, the biggest difference between a strong team and a match is the defense. In order for KIA to go beyond the challenge of the 5th round and go higher, stabilizing the team defense is essential. If the team’s defense was shown in the game against LG on August 9, even if it is on the fall baseball stage, it will not be able to properly show its competitiveness. It is time to deepen the concerns of the KIA bench in many ways over the reorganization of the defense.