SSG lost 4-10 in the away game against the LG Twins in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul at 5 p.m. on the 16th. SSG, which suffered three consecutive losses, recorded 62 wins, 2 draws, and 57 losses, falling from 4th place to 5th place.
On this day, SSG gave LG the first run in the first inning, giving them a 0-1 lead. In the 5th inning, he allowed a timely hit to Hong Chang-gi with 2 outs and runners on second base, and then with 2 outs and runners on first base, Shin Min-jae and Kim Hyun-soo hit consecutive hits to pull the score to 0-3.
The batting line once again showed strength in a crisis. After one out in the top of the sixth inning, Choo Shin-soo and Choi Ji-hoon hit consecutive hits. Even Choi Jeong walked and took the opportunity to load the bases with one out. At a golden opportunity, Guillermo Heredia hit a timely hit with an RBI single to right. With the bases loaded and one out, Choi Joo-hwan hit a timely hit in front of the center fielder, tying the game with two RBIs. With one out and runners on 1st and 2nd bases, Park Seong-han hit a timely hit with 1 RBI in front of right field. SSG scored 4 points in the 6th inning alone, turning the game around 4-3.
But that was it. SSG immediately gave up 4 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning, taking the lead back to 4-7. With the bases loaded with two outs, left-handed pitcher Ko Hyo-jun was brought in to deal with left-handed hitters Hong Chang-gi, Shin Min-jae, and the table setter, but it was painful that both gave up two RBIs and timely hits to the table setter.
SSG lost its momentum and ended up losing 4-10 to LG, falling into a swamp of three consecutive losses. The ranking also fell one place to 5th.
In fact, SSG was evaluated as a ‘championship candidate’ until the middle of this season. At the end of the first half, they were only 2.5 games behind LG in first place. If they swept the series against LG while maintaining the match margin, a reversal was possible. As of August 5th, they maintained a 3.5 game gap with LG.
However, from mid-August, SSG fell into rapid trouble. In the 29 games played since August 6th, they completely collapsed with 10 wins, 1 draw, and 18 losses. The 2nd place that they had been holding on to was also lost to KT Wiz, who came up in the second half of the season.
In addition to losing 2nd place, SSG is currently under threat of being ranked 5th. SSG (win percentage 0.521), which recorded a riding margin of +5 due to the loss on this day, was tied for 5th place (Doosan Bears), 1 league behind the 4th place KIA Tigers (win percentage 0.522). In fact, it has to compete with KIA and Doosan for two places, 4th and 5th place.
From SSG’s perspective, the poor performance of the starting lineup in the second half of the season is painful. Before this day’s game, SSG was ranked last in the league with an average ERA of 6.33 in September. ‘Ace’ Kirk McCarty showed trouble with an ERA of 12.38 (11 runs in 8 innings), and Seung-won Moon had an ERA of 10.38 (10 earned runs in 8.2 innings). During the same period, SSG collapsed with 2 wins, 1 draw, and 8 losses. The bullpen is also performing poorly, with an ERA of 5.98 (8th) in September. Right-handed closer Seo Jin-yong, who had established himself as SSG’s ‘guardian’ throughout the season, also showed signs of instability by making three blown saves in the last five games.
The better a team is, the more likely it is that the batting lineup will perform well if the pitching staff struggles. However, SSG is currently continuing its sluggish batting pace. As of the 15th, SSG’s September team batting average was 0.259, ranking 7th in the league.
SSG fell from 2nd place to 5th place in about a month. The entire team is experiencing a decline. There is no clear breakthrough in sight. For the remainder of the season, SSG is expected to put their lives on the line not to win the championship but to advance to the fall baseball season.
BY: 와이즈토토