SSG players
Celebrate after winning 3-2 in the baseball game between SSG Landers and Doosan Bears in the ‘2023
Shinhan SOL KBO League’ at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Oct. 16.
The final game of the Korean Baseball Organization’s regular season on Sunday will determine which
team will go directly to the semifinals as the third-place finisher. The battle for third place was fierce until
the very end, and the margin of victory was reduced from 3 to 1 to 2 to 1.
With the Doosan Bears slipping to fifth place, the SSG Landers and NC Dinos are in a final battle for the third spot.
SSG won 3-2 against Doosan in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Saturday.
SSG was down by one run in the bottom of the ninth inning after a solo shot by pinch-hitter Kim In-tae,
and faced the prospect of an upset with runners on first and second. However, Seo Jin-yong struck out Kang Seung-ho to preserve the win.
NC players
Celebrate after winning the ninth inning of the baseball game between the LG Twins and the NC Dinos
during the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, on Sept. 22.
NC, on the other hand, suffered a 2-4 loss in Gwangju against the KIA Tigers, even with “ace” Eric Peddie on the mound.
Peddie pitched 5⅔ scoreless innings with five strikeouts, and Kwon Hee-dong hit a two-run double in the
first inning, but the bullpen collapsed in the bottom of the eighth, giving up four runs.
With their 75th win of the season (3-065), SSG moved into third place, ahead of NC (75-266). With one
game remaining, both SSG and NC have secured at least fourth place.
Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yeop
Keeps a straight face during the seventh inning of the baseball game between the SSG Landers and the
Doosan Bears in the ‘2023 Shinhan SOL KBO League’ at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea, on Oct. 16.
With 74 wins, 2 draws and 67 losses, Doosan has clinched fifth place regardless of the outcome of the
remaining games. If Doosan wins the 17th match and NC loses, the two teams will be tied at 75 points, but
Doosan will not be able to finish higher than NC.
If the teams have the same winning percentage, the ranking is determined by the number of wins, losses,
and goals scored against each other. Doosan is tied with NC in head-to-head wins with 8 wins and 8
losses, but loses in head-to-head goal differential (NC 66 points – Doosan 64 points).
In the end
The battle for third place has been narrowed down to a “two-horse race” between SSG and NC. The
owner of the third place will be decided by the results of the Incheon Doosan-SSG game and the Gwangju NC-KIA game on the 17th.
The third and fourth places in the regular season are only one step apart, but in the postseason, it’s a
world of difference. The third-place team can skip the wild-card deciding game and go directly to the
semi-playoffs to rest up, while the fourth-place team has to play the wild-card deciding game on the 19th.
No team has ever won the Korean Series after starting the postseason with a wild-card game, although
a team that went straight to the semifinals has done so before.
That’s why SSG and NC will be going all out in the final game of the regular season to claim third place.
SSG will start homegrown ace Kim Kwang-hyun and NC will start Shin Min-hyuk. If they slip to fourth
place, they will have to play the first game of the wildcard decider against Doosan on the 19th, but they can’t afford to waste any energy.
In the battle for third place
SSG has the advantage. SSG will clinch third place on its own if it wins the final game against Doosan. NC
must first take out KIA with Yang Hyun-jong and then hope that Doosan can hold SSG’s ankles.
While Doosan holds the casting boat for the third-place race, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t go all
out in the final regular season game in preparation for the wildcard matchup. Doosan manager Lee
Seung-yeop had planned to start Choi Seung-yong in Game 17 if they were still in contention, but once
fifth place was finalized, he switched his starter to Jang Won-jun. 카지노사이트존