Baseball Preview: Kia Tigers vs. Shinsegae Landers

GWANGJU, South Korea (Interstat) — The Kia Tigers host the Shinsegae Landers on Wednesday evening at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field, with the first-place Tigers looking to build on a decisive victory in the series opener.

Kia (43-35-1) enters with a commanding 2.5-game lead in the standings and a five-game winning streak over Shinsegae. The Tigers won Tuesday’s game 10-3, the fourth consecutive head-to-head victory dating to a sweep May 22-24. The Tigers have won six of seven series meetings this season.

Shinsegae (30-46-2) has lost five of its past six games and sits 13 games under .500. The Landers have dropped four straight road games.

Players to watch

Kia third baseman Kim Do-yeong is on a torrid stretch. In Tuesday’s win, he went 3-for-5 with two home runs and three RBIs. Over his past 10 games, Kim is batting .400 (14-for-35) with five home runs and 14 RBIs. He has multiple hits in four of his past six contests.

Shinsegae designated hitter Choi Jeong homered in Tuesday’s loss, going 1-for-3 with two RBIs. But the veteran has been inconsistent, going hitless in three of his past five games. Over his past 10 games, Choi is batting .226 (7-for-31) with two home runs and five RBIs.

Series trends

The Tigers have outscored the Landers 23-11 in the past four meetings. Kia’s pitching has been particularly effective, holding Shinsegae to three or fewer runs in five of the last six matchups.

Tuesday’s combined pitching was a bright spot for Kia. Right-hander Adam Oller tossed six scoreless innings, allowing five hits with 10 strikeouts. Choi Ji-min added a clean seventh inning.

For Shinsegae, reliever Park Si-hoo worked two innings of scoreless relief Tuesday, allowing four hits with two strikeouts. The Landers bullpen has a 5.40 ERA over the past seven games.

Projection

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 5-2 Kia victory, with the Tigers having a 63.1 percent probability to win based on ELO ratings.

Weather

First pitch temperature is forecast at 77 degrees with cloudy skies.

Up next

The teams play again Thursday in Gwangju before Shinsegae returns home for a three-game series against the Samsung Lions starting Friday. Kia hosts the NC Dinos for a weekend series.