The "defending champion" KIA Tigers have been having a hard time since the beginning of the season.

KIA, led by head coach Lee Bum-ho, suffered a come-from-behind loss of 3-5 in the third game of the season against the Kiwoom Heroes of the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field on Sunday. Last year, the team experienced its first consecutive defeat in 12 games, but this season it suffered its first consecutive defeat in five games. KIA's season record was two wins and three losses (0.400).스포츠토토

Kim had showdowns with rookie Yoon Hyun as starting pitcher, and fulfilled his role faithfully. Kim achieved a quality start (more than six innings as a starter and three earned runs or less) by allowing four hits, three strikeouts and two runs (non-earned). However, he failed to receive support in offense and defense.

The fact that Kim Do-hyun's two runs were both self-imposed means that KIA's defense was unstable. The first error came at the top of the third inning when Yasiel Puig was at bat with one out. Third baseman Byun Woo-hyuk made a catch error while trying to get a ground ball. Since then, Lee Joo-hyung's hit and Kim Do-hyun's wild pitch have made the situation second and third base with one out, and third baseman Puig homered when Ruben Cardinez's sacrifice fly to left field.

Kim's ordeal didn't end there. With the bases loaded with one out in the top of the fifth inning when the two teams were tied 1-1, Cardinez's fly ball headed to center fielder Choi Won-joon, who quickly threw the ball home to prevent third baseman Kim Jae-hyun from coming home.

In the meantime, second baseman Puig ran to third base. It was Puig's bonehead play. KIA fielders could finish the inning if they continued their defense calmly. However, third baseman Kim Jae-hyun started running while catcher Han Jun-su threw the ball to shortstop Kim Kyu-sung. Kim Kyu-sung sprayed the ball home right after the catch, but the result was safe. Kim Jae-hyun's foot arrived home faster than Kim Kyu-sung's one-bound throw. The official record was Kim Kyu-sung's throwing error.

Even after Kim Do-hyun went down, the defense continued to shake. Puig's fly ball went to the outfield in the top of the seventh inning with no outs and no outs, when the team was being dragged 1-2, and it fell between second baseman Kim Sun-bin and right fielder Na Sung-beom. Na Sung-beom tried to catch the ball, but the ball fell to the ground, leading to a hit. This play did not lead to a loss, but both the fans and the coaching staff could not hide their disappointment.

Still, Kia has expressed hope that it will win. Jeon Sang-hyun, the third pitcher who took the mound as relief pitcher with the bases loaded with no outs in the top of the seventh inning, saved the team from a crisis by hitting all of the center hitters leading to Ruben Cardinez, Song Sung-moon and Choi Joo-hwan. Na Sung-bum, the "captain" of the team, showed strength in the lineup. He gave his team the lead by drawing a two-run arch over the right-center fence against Won Jong-hyun of the Kiwoom Heroes with two outs and runners on the first base in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Kia Tigers maintained a one-run lead through the bottom of the eighth inning, while its relief pitcher Jung Hae-young struck out Lee Ju-hyeong, its leadoff hitter, at the top of the ninth inning. It seemed as if the game ended with a one-run victory for Kia.

However, after back-to-back walks by Cardinals and Song Sung-moon with one out, Jeong hit a timely two-run homer to Choi Joo-hwan with one out and runners on the first and second bases. This was not the end of his career. After Jeon's hit, Choi allowed third baseman Eo Jun-seo to hit a ground ball to the first base with one out and runners on the first and third bases, even allowing third baseman Choi Joo-hwan to score a run. KIA had to accept a two-run loss as the batters went scoreless in the bottom of the ninth inning.

It is true that the team situation was difficult as Kim Do-young and Park Chan-ho left due to injuries, but both the result and the process were disappointing. KIA, which was able to finish the three consecutive games during the week with a little light heart, was shocked by more than one loss.

Coach Lee Bum-ho reiterated the importance of early season results from the two consecutive games that kick off the regular season. We need to accumulate as many wins as possible in order to secure the second consecutive win." In addition, Lee had no choice but to pay attention to the upcoming showdown between the two most demanding teams, the Samsung Lions (1-3) and the LG Twins (4-6) in the first week of April. However, as Kia's game did not go as planned, the coach's plan was twisted.

"It is true that the two players (Kim Do-young and Park Chan-ho) are burdened both offensively and defensively after the absence of the two players," Lee told reporters ahead of Tuesday's game. "The early days of the season will be tighter than expected because we are playing without showing all the strength we have. We are in a critical situation right now." It remains to be seen whether Kia, which has confirmed many challenges in its first five games, will be able to find a breakthrough.

Meanwhile, Kia will move to Hanwha Life Insurance Ballpark in Daejeon and hold three consecutive games with Hanwha starting from July 28. The starting pitcher is James Nail.