Consecutive games, mound collapses, 5-strike ‘dangerous’ like this
SSG Landers’ slump continues.
The crisis continues for the defending champions SSG Landers, who became the first team to win the league wire-to-wire last year.
SSG
Lost an away game against the 섯다 Hanwha Eagles of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League 3-4 at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on July 7.
After conceding a run in the fourth inning, SSG bounced back with three runs in the fifth, capitalizing on an opponent’s error and an RBI single by Choi Ji-hoon.
However, they were unable to capitalize on the momentum as the bases were loaded in the sixth and runners on first and second in the top of the seventh.
After starter Roenis Elias went down, rookie Song Young-jin came up, but gave up a single to Choi Jae-hoon and a double to Lee Do-yoon to put runners on second and third.
SSG rushed in their most reliable bullpen, Noh Kyung-eun, but she was unable to overcome the pressure of the ‘three-game streak’.
Noh gave up a sacrifice fly to Moon Hyun-bin and a single up the middle to Nick Williams to tie the game at 3-3. Noh then gave up a walk to Si-Hwan Noh and an RBI single to Eun-Sung Chae to make it a 3-4 game.
SSG then came up empty in their two offensive opportunities in the eighth and ninth innings and ultimately lost the game.
SSG took a 5-4 lead into the eighth inning against Hanwha on the sixth, tied the game in the ninth, and then lost in extra innings in the 11th, the second straight game in which they came from behind to lose to the last-place team.
The result allowed Hanwha to clinch the title, while SSG dropped to fourth place after 141 days.
SSG still has a lot of veteran baggage, including Choi Jeong.
SSG entered the second half of the season in second place behind the LG Twins at the end of the first half, 온라인섯다 but with last year’s championship team still intact, it was expected that the team could reverse its position at any time.
However, their second half performance was sluggish with 15 wins and 21 losses. They went 10-13 in August and are 1-5 in six games in September, with a winning percentage of just 0.167.
The first reason for SSG’s slump is the “aging” of its main players.
More than half of the batting lineup is in their mid-30s or older, including leadoff man Choo Shin-soo (41), Choi Jung (36) and Choi Ju-hwan (35) in the center field, and Ha Jae-hoon (33), Kim Min-sik (34), and Kim Sung-hyun (36) in the lower order. The pinch-hitters, Oh Tae-gon (32) and Kim Kang-min (41), are not far behind.
The same goes for the mound. Kim Kwang-hyun (35) is still the anchor of the starting rotation, but compared to key relievers Ko Hyo-joon (40) and Noh Kyung-eun (39), he feels young.
They did their job in the first half of the season, but gradually became overloaded.
Last year, youngsters Oh Won-seok (22), Park Sung-seok (25), Choi Ji-hoon (26), and Jeon Eui-san (23) took some of the pressure off the seniors with alto-like performances, but they haven’t been as good this season.
As a result, SSG has a team batting average of 0.257 and a team ERA of 5.09 in the second half of the season, both of which rank eighth among the 10 clubs. There have been 10 come-from-behind wins during this stretch, but there have also been 11 come-from-behind losses.
SSG
which has fallen to fourth place, is one game behind the fifth-place KIA Tigers and four games behind the sixth-place Doosan Bears. It’s time to get real and start worrying about making the postseason.
While they’re far from the top of the standings, it’s important for them to pick up some wins to stay in the top five.
SSG begins a three-game series against second-place KT Wiz today. With a 4-8 record against them this season, they’re a tough opponent, but KT also have a 1-5 record in September, so it’s not an insurmountable mountain to climb.
If SSG can’t get over the hump at this watershed moment of the season, 고스톱 they’ll only fall further down the standings.