The Nastas of the world are no-hitters…

Kia extended their winning streak to eight games. It’s even more valuable that they did it against the tricky NC and SSG. The driving force behind the eight-game winning streak is the batting lineup. KIA’s bats have combined for a .355 batting average, 1.024 OPS, and nine home runs in four games this week.

They even managed to hold star Na Sung-beom without a hit against SSG in Incheon on March 3. Na Sung-bum joined the team in late June, but had only gone hitless in 10 of his 46 games until that day. At least one hit is standard, and he has 18 multi-hit games with two or more.

Even with Na taking a breather at the top of the order, going hitless with a walk and a run scored, the KIA bats did not suffer any damage. Returning starter Lee Yi-ri gave up four runs on two home runs in three innings, dragging the game into the middle innings. It was one of his worst outings in recent memory.

However, the Tigers turned the game around in the eighth inning and scored the winning run in the ninth. In the eighth inning, the bottom of the order of Kim Sun-bin, Hwang Dae-in, and Kim Tae-gun came through. Pinch-hitter Go Jong-wook delivered the game-winning hit. It was a symbolic moment that showed that KIA is not just powered by a triple-setter and a center fielder. In the ninth inning, Kim Do-young hit a wedge solo shot.

Surprisingly, the power of the center field lineup of Na Sung-beom, Choi Hyung-woo, and Socrates Brito did not come into play during the three-run innings in the 8th and 9th. KIA’s entire batting order is definitely strong. Newcomer Kim Tae-gun’s .344 batting average in his last 10 games has been crucial.

First base is the only real concern. Manager Kim Jong-kook has declared that he’s going with Byun Woo-hyuk for now, but Hwang Dae-in made his first start at first base in a long time, going 2-for-4 with a home run, two doubles, two RBIs, and one run scored. It looks like Byun Woo-hyuk and Hwang Dae-in will be battling it out.

KIA has been hitting so well lately that they don’t seem to have a major Achilles’ heel, operating without a fifth starter. In fact, Lee’s replacement wasn’t even lucky enough to be rained out, and Mario Sanchez’s first replacement won’t be revealed until next week. That’s a lot of pressure to put on the team. It would be nice if the batting lineup could always fill in, but that’s not always possible.

Still, KIA’s recent batting form is good enough to take advantage of any team’s mound. Eventually, the cycle will drop off, but for now, the pitching is a little tougher. In their four games this week, the KIA offense was led by Na Sung-beom, Kim Sun-bin, and Park Chan-ho, who combined to hit .412. Kim Do-young is hitting .400 and Socrates is hitting .333.먹튀검증

KIA will begin a three-game road series against sixth-place Doosan on May 5. After that, it’s a four-game weekend series at home against first-place LG. The series against LG is interesting as they have one of the best mounds in the league.