‘Busan-bound’ LG sits back and laughs, secures 29th championship! ‘0:5→9:7 대역전극’ SSG defeats NC…KT also loses to KIA

SSG Landers swept the NC Dinos, and now if the Kia Tigers defeat the KT Wiz, the 2023 regular season champion will be crowned.

SSG won their home game against NC 9-7 on March 3 at SSG Landers Field in Incheon.

SSG’s three-game winning streak keeps them in fifth place with a season record of 68 Wins, 3 Losses and 63 Draws. NC is now 70-2-61.

In addition to the two teams, the game was also significant for the LG Twins. If NC loses and KT loses against KIA at Katie Weeds Park in Suwon, LG will clinch its first regular season title in 29 years. Kia swept KT 3-1, meaning LG, which plays the Lotte Giants in Busan on April 4, will clinch the title without playing a game.

SSG started Shin-soo Choo (designated hitter), Oh Tae-gon (first base), Choi Joo-hwan (second base), Guillermo Heredia (center field), Han Yu-seom (right field), Kim Sung-hyun (shortstop), Lee Jeong-beom (left field), Kim Min-shik (catcher), and Kim Chan-hyung (third base).

NC’s starting lineup was Son Asub (designated hitter), Park Min-woo (second base), Park Gun-woo (right field), Jason Martin (center field), Kwon Hee-dong (left field), Oh Young-soo (first base), Seo Ho-cheol (third base), Ahn Jung-yeol (catcher), and Kim Han-byul (shortstop).

SSG starter Roenis Elias left the mound after giving up five runs (four earned) on eight hits (one home run) in three innings with one strikeout. For NC, Shin Min-hyuk gave up three runs on five hits with two strikeouts in five innings. 무지개토토

In the top of the first inning, NC focused its firepower early and got lucky. After leadoff hitter Son Asub reached on a throwing error by the second baseman, Park Min-woo singled to put runners on first and third. Park stole second on Martin’s sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead. Martin’s RBI single made the score 2-0.

A dizzying situation arose. Kwon Hee-dong singled to left field, sending left fielder Lee Jung-bum to the hospital in an ambulance with a knee injury. The hit brought Martin home from first base and Kwon Hee-dong to second. Ha Jae-hoon entered the game in Lee’s absence. After Oh Young-soo grounded out to shortstop, Seo Ho-cheol singled, but Kwon Hee-dong was caught trying to score.

NC added another run in the top of the third. Leadoff hitter Park Gun-woo singled, followed by Kwon Hee-dong’s two-run home run. It was Kwon’s seventh home run of the season.

In the top of the fourth inning, SSG suffered another setback. Elias, who had felt discomfort in his back earlier in the game, complained of back pain and left the mound after only three innings. Lee Kun-wook took over as the second pitcher, and although he gave up singles in the fourth and fifth innings, he settled down and didn’t allow a run.

In the fifth inning, SSG got on the board. After back-to-back singles by Kim Sung-hyun and Ha Jae-hoon put runners on first and second, SSG cut the deficit to 2-5 with back-to-back singles by Kim Min-seok and Kim Chan-hyung. Choo Shin-soo then grounded out to shortstop, but a wild pitch from Oh Tae-gon brought home Kim Chan-hyung, who was on the disabled list for three weeks, to cut the deficit to two runs.

SSG made a big inning in the bottom of the 6th. NC’s starting pitcher Shin Min-hyuk went down and Ha Jun-young came up. Leadoff hitter Choi Ju-hwan drew a walk, and Heredia’s double put runners on second and third. Han Yoo-seom added a run with a sacrifice fly to center field.

NC switched pitchers again to Han Jae-seung. Han gave up a wild pitch to Heredia and back-to-back walks to Kim Sung-hyun and Ha Jae-hoon. Kim Chan-hyung’s grounder to the third baseman prevented the runner at third from scoring, but the catcher’s throw to first dropped the ball backwards. Ha Jae-hoon, who was at second base, came home to make it 6-5. Choo Shin-soo followed with a two-run double to push SSG’s lead to 8-5.

SSG sealed the win in the bottom of the eighth inning when Ha Jae-hoon hit a solo home run.

NC started the top of the ninth with a leadoff single by Park Dae-on, and a batter later, Son Asub and Park Min-woo drew walks to load the bases. Park followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to three runs. Martin struck out, but Park Han-yeol drew a walk to cut the deficit to two runs. However, SSG had the last laugh as no follow-up hits followed.

After Elias, SSG went to Lee Eun-wook (two scoreless innings), Choi Min-joon (one scoreless inning), Noh Kyung-eun (two scoreless innings), and Seo Jin-yong (two runs in one inning).

After Shin Min-hyuk was sent down, Ha Jun-young (⅓ inning, 2 runs), Han Jae-seung (0 inning, 2 runs), Song Myung-ki (⅔ inning, 1 run), and Lee Jun-ho (2 innings, 1 run) came on.

After the game, SSG head coach Kim Won-hyung praised the bullpen, saying, “When Elias went down with back pain, (Lee) Gun-wook pitched two good innings. After that, (Choi) Min-joon and (Noh) Kyung-eun pitched well, especially Kyung-eun, who gave the bullpen a big boost by pitching two innings.” Kim continued, “In the batting order, (Ha) Jae-hoon’s home run was a big factor in our victory. He led the offense with four hits, three RBIs, and six runs in the bottom of the 7th, 8th, and 9th, so I want to commend him for that.”

Ha said, “It’s the second half of the season, so every game is important. I tried my best to play and I’m glad the team won.” “The timing of the at-bat (for the home run) was the timing of the home run. We were in a situation where we needed to get one run, so it’s good that we looked at the zone and pitched wide.”

SSG and NC will play at the same venue on April 4. SSG started Kim Kwang-hyun and NC started Choi Sung-young.