Kia Tigers edge Shinsegae Landers 3‑2 on late homer

GWANGJU, South Korea (Interstat) — Aderlin Rodriguez crushed a two-run homer in the seventh inning and Wes Oller struck out nine over six dominant innings as the Kia Tigers edged the visiting Shinsegae Landers 3-2 on Sunday afternoon at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field.

The victory completed a three-game sweep for Kia, which improved to 25-22-1. Shinsegae fell to 22-25-1.

Oller allowed only one hit and did not walk a batter in his six-inning outing, baffling the Landers with a mix of fastballs and breaking pitches. He struck out the side in the second inning and retired nine consecutive batters at one point. The right-hander faced the minimum 18 batters, erasing the lone hit — a first-inning single by Guillermo Heredia — on a double play.

Shinsegae starter Takeda Shota was nearly as effective early, striking out seven over six innings. But he allowed four hits and three runs, with the decisive damage coming in the fifth and seventh innings.

The Tigers broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth. Na Sung-bum led off with a single to right-center and advanced to third on a single by Rodriguez. Two batters later, catcher Han Jun-su lined a single to center field, scoring Na for a 1-0 lead.

Kia extended the lead in the seventh. Kim Min-gyu, who had entered as a pinch runner after Na Sung-bum walked, stole second base. Rodriguez then launched a 1-1 pitch over the left-field wall, his third home run of the season, to make it 3-0.

Shinsegae mounted a comeback in the ninth against Kia closer Jung Hai-young. The Landers strung together three hits, capped by Heredia’s two-run single to center field that cut the deficit to 3-2. Heredia finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs. But Jung induced a groundout to end the game, earning his sixth save.

Kia’s bullpen preserved the lead after Oller departed. Choi Ji-min struck out two in a perfect seventh inning, and Kim Beom-su worked a scoreless eighth despite allowing a hit. Jo Byeong-hyeon and Jeon Young-jun each struck out two in a scoreless inning for Shinsegae, but the Landers could not overcome the early deficit.

The Tigers managed only five hits, the same as Shinsegae, but made them count. Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with the home run and two RBIs. Han Jun-su had the other RBI.

The game drew 20,500 fans to the ballpark in Gwangju.

Kia will travel to face the Kiwoom Heroes on Tuesday for a three-game series, while Shinsegae returns home to host the Samsung Lions.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Kia Tigers 5, Shinsegae Landers 2. Interstat’s ELO system gave Kia a 55.20 percent probability to win. Shinsegae had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of 4 went over the over-under line of 9.0.