Panoni won a 324-day KIA 3 consecutive sweep to regain 6th place. Lotte suddenly dropped to 7th place
The KIA Tigers won 6-3 against the Lotte Giants in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ held at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on the 30th.
KIA has set up a starting lineup with Choi Won-joon (1st baseman), Kim Do-young (3rd baseman), Na Sung-bum (right fielder), Choi Hyung-woo (nominated hitter), Socrates Brito (center fielder), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Lee Woo-sung (left fielder), Kim Tae-gun (catcher), Park Chan-ho (shortstop), and starting pitcher Panini.
In response, Lotte formed a starting lineup with Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Ahn Kwon-soo (left fielder), Jung Hoon (1st baseman), Jeon Joon-woo (nominated hitter), Noh Jin-hyuk (shortstop), Kim Min-seok (center fielder), Kim Min-soo (3rd baseman), Jung Bo-geun (catcher), Park Seung-wook (2nd baseman), and starting pitcher Han Hyun-hee. Initially, Na Kyun-an was scheduled to take the mound as a starting pitcher, but Na Kyun-an was removed from the first-tier entry on the day due to a left hamstring injury during training on the 29th.
It was a complete victory for KIA, where Panoni’s scoreless pitching and the concentration of the batters shone. Panoni pitched well with five hits, two walks, four strikeouts and no runs in 6⅔ innings, reporting his first win since returning to KIA. It is the first time in 324 days that Panoni has become a winning pitcher in the KBO League since the match against Incheon SSG Landers on September 9 last year. In the batting lineup, Socrates boasted a good batting sense with two hits, one walk, and two RBIs in two at-bats.
KIA scored one point in the bottom of the fourth inning. When leadoff hitter Choi Won-joon got on base with a straight walk and succeeded in stealing second base and opened a chance to score, KIA was able to score one point first as Kim Do-young fired a timely double to the right.
KIA’s additional score came from the attack in the bottom of the sixth inning. Leadoff hitter Na Sung-beom hit a left-handed hit, and after one out, Socrates hit a timely double to the right-center, giving KIA a 2-0 lead. Following Kim Sun-bin’s left-handed hit, Lee Woo-sung’s hit led to a ground ball that assaulted the pitcher, allowing third baseman Socrates to score and KIA to run 3-0.