Kia at Kiwoom
SEOUL, South Korea (Interstat) — The Kia Tigers look to extend their dominance over the Kiwoom Heroes when the teams meet Wednesday evening at Gocheok Sky Dome.
Kia (39-33-1) has won seven consecutive head-to-head meetings dating back to April, including a 7-3 victory Tuesday. The Tigers have outscored the Heroes 45-13 during that streak and are 8-0 against them this season.
Right-hander Adam Oller (4-2 in his last five starts) will take the mound for Kia. Oller earned the win Tuesday against these same Heroes, allowing one earned run on four hits over six innings with six strikeouts. In his previous start June 17, he held the LG Twins to one earned run across six innings in a 5-4 victory. Oller has posted a 1.93 ERA over his last two outings.
The Heroes (26-47-1) counter with right-hander Park Jun-hyun. Park took the loss Tuesday, allowing two earned runs on three hits over five innings with five strikeouts. He has struggled recently, losing his last four decisions. Park’s best outing during that stretch came June 17 at Samsung, where he pitched seven scoreless innings but received no run support in a 1-0 loss.
Kia’s offense has been productive throughout the season series. Harold Castro went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs on Tuesday, while Na Sung-bum added two hits including a homer and two RBIs.
Kiwoom will look to center fielder Lim Byeong-wuk, who homered and drove in a run Tuesday. Reliever Jhun Jun-pyo tossed two scoreless innings in that game.
The Tigers have won six of their last 10 games. They begin a three-game set at Doosan after this series. Kiwoom has lost four straight and seven of its last 10, with a trip to NC looming.
Interstat’s game simulator projects a 4-2 Kia victory, with the Tigers having a 65.30 percent probability to win per the ELO system.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. local time.