On Tuesday, 3/26/24, the Lotte Giants are going to take on the KIA Tigers. The game is another early morning game for the East Coast of the US at 5:30 AM. However, the game is being held at Gwangju KIA Champions Field.
Lotte Giants Preview
The Giants are coming to this game here after getting a loss in their last game. The loss was a close battle against SSG and came with a final score of 7-6. The loss dropped the Giants to an 0-2 record. When it comes to hitting the Giants have not been horrible hitting at a clip of .260 with 2 homers. Still, the Giants pitching has not been up to snuff yet with a 6.75 ERA.
Lotte has seen Jeong Bo-keun be the leader in the hitting, but he has only had a single plate appearance on the year and recorded a hit in the chance. Victor Reyes and Kim Min-sung both lead the Giants in the power department with a homer each. Go Seung-min has managed to drive in a total of 3 runners on the year so far.
The starting pitcher for the Giants is slated to be Charlie Barnes. This is the first start of the year for Barnes, but last year Charlie threw in 30 games for 170 1/3 innings. Barnes allowed 171 hits while striking out 147. Charlie Barnes finished the season with an 11-10 record and a 3.28 ERA while posting a 1.33 WHIP.
KIA Tigers Preview
The KIA Tigers are heading to this game here with a rained out game in their last outing. The Tigers are sitting on a 1-0 record on the year. The hitting for KIA is impressive with a .351 average and 1 homer. When it comes pitching the ball the Tigers have posted a 4.00 ERA on the season.
The leader in hitting for the Tigers is Choi Hyoung-woo who is coming to the game hitting at a clip of .667. The run production on the year is split between Choi and Hwang Dae-in with 2 RBIs each on the year. The power hitting for the Tigers was handled by Choi Won-jun with a homer on the year.
KIA is putting Yang Hyeon-jong on the mound. Last season the 36 year old pitcher starter in 29 games and threw 171 innings. However, Yang did allow 181 hits and struck out only 133 batters. the record of Hyeon-jong ended up at 9-11 with a 3.58 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP.
Tigers vs Giants Pick: KIA Tigers
The Tigers are the better hitting team coming here and have looked impressive at the plate in the young season. Still, we like the Tigers to continue to play good with the small ball and get some good hits against a struggling and unsettled Giants pitching staff here.
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