CHANGWON (Interstat) — James Naile delivered six strong innings and the Kia Tigers used timely hitting and a steady bullpen to beat the NC Dinos 5-1 on Saturday afternoon at Masan Baseball Stadium. The Tigers improved to 68-55-3, while the Dinos fell to 54-62-5. Kia finished with 11 hits to NC’s five in front of an announced attendance of 18,128. The visitors scored in four different innings and held the home side to a single run.

Naile earned the win, allowing one earned run on three hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out six. The right-hander kept the Dinos off balance for most of the afternoon, and Kia’s bullpen preserved the lead. Cho Sang-woo, Lee Eui-lee and Jeon Sang-hyun each worked scoreless relief. Lee struck out three in his inning, while Jeon struck out two. Cho did not allow a hit in his inning. The collective effort helped Kia secure the road victory and gave Naile his ninth win of the season against five losses.

Kia opened the scoring in the second. Yoon Do-hyun grounded out to short to start the game, and Han Jun-su doubled down the right-field line, but Harold Castro struck out and Na Sung-bum lined out to third. In the second, Kim Sun-bin struck out and Hwang Dae-in flied out to right before Kim Ho-ryung singled to left-center. Kim Tae-gun followed with a double to left-center that scored Kim Ho-ryung. Ha Ju-suk then grounded out to short to end the inning.

The Tigers added two more in the third. Han Jun-su walked, Harold Castro singled in front of center field, and Na Sung-bum was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Kim Sun-bin then singled in front of left field to bring home Castro and Han. Hwang Dae-in flied out to center, and Kim Ho-ryung lined out to short. Koo Chang-mo struck out Kim Sun-bin earlier in the game and later got help from his defense, but Kia had built a three-run cushion.

Na Sung-bum provided the game’s most emphatic swing in the fifth. The Kia right fielder homered to center field, increasing the lead. Na finished 1 for 3 with the home run and one RBI. Han Jun-su went 2 for 4 with one RBI and also scored a run. Kim Tae-gun doubled and singled, while Kim Ho-ryung singled, scored and later stole second. Ha Ju-suk doubled in the ninth and came around on Han’s single to center. Byun Woo-hyuk moved Ha to third with a sacrifice bunt before Han delivered.

NC’s only run came in the sixth. Shin Jae-in singled to center and moved up on Choi Jeong-won’s single in front of left. Choi Jeong-won then hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Shin. The Dinos managed five hits overall, with Blaine Crim singling in the second, An Joong-yeol adding a single in the seventh and Choi Jeong-won collecting a hit in the sixth. Park Kun-woo reached on an error in the fifth, but NC could not build a sustained rally. The Dinos went down in order in the first, third and eighth.

Koo Chang-mo took the loss for NC. He allowed four earned runs on eight hits over five innings, walked one and struck out four. Bae Jae-whan followed with two scoreless innings, allowing no hits and striking out two. Son Ju-hwan also pitched a scoreless inning for NC, yielding one hit and striking out one. Choi Yo-han recorded two outs without allowing a hit, though he walked one. The Dinos’ staff kept Kia off the board after the fifth until the ninth, when Han Jun-su singled home Ha Ju-suk.

The Tigers’ defense and bullpen made the lead stand. Cho Sang-woo pitched a scoreless inning without allowing a hit. Lee Eui-lee gave up one hit and one walk but struck out three in his inning. Jeon Sang-hyun allowed one hit and struck out two in a scoreless inning. Naile’s six strikeouts anchored the game’s most important pitching line, and he improved to 9-5 on the season. Koo dropped to 8-5.

Kia’s offense came from multiple spots. Han Jun-su doubled in the first, walked in the third, grounded out twice and singled in the ninth. Harold Castro singled in the third and scored. Kim Sun-bin singled in the third to drive in two. Kim Tae-gun doubled in the second and singled in the fourth. Kim Ho-ryung singled in the second and eighth and stole second in the eighth. Ha Ju-suk doubled in the ninth. Na Sung-bum homered in the fifth and was intentionally walked in the ninth. Byun Woo-hyuk had a sacrifice bunt in the ninth. Jeong Hyun-chang reached on a fielder’s choice in the ninth.

NC’s best chances came early and late but produced little. Blaine Crim singled in the second, but Kim Whee-jip and Park Kun-woo hit into fielder’s choices that erased runners. Kwon Hui-dong walked in the fourth, but Park Min-woo and Blaine Crim struck out. In the sixth, Shin Jae-in singled and scored on Choi Jeong-won’s sacrifice fly. An Joong-yeol singled in the seventh, but Yun Jun-hyeok struck out to end the inning. The Dinos went quietly in the eighth and could not answer Kia’s ninth-inning insurance run.

The win gave Kia a series-opening victory and continued a strong recent stretch. Kia had won two of its previous three games, including a 2-0 home win over Kiwoom Heroes on Sept. 17. The Tigers will face NC again on Sunday, Sept. 20, before a road game at Doosan on Sept. 23. NC, meanwhile, has lost six straight and will look to split the series in the rematch. NC had won nine of the first 10 meetings between the teams this season, making Saturday’s result a reversal of recent head-to-head play. The Dinos are scheduled to visit Samsung on Sept. 22 and KT Wiz on Sept. 23 and 24.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Kia Tigers 4, NC Dinos 3. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Kia with a 52.2 percent probability to win. Kia had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +1.5. The total score of 6 went over the over/under line of 9.5.