How did the SSG Landers, whose fall baseball hopes were dashed just three weeks ago when they slipped to eighth place, make a seismic shift in the top five of the KBO?
The SSG Landers won the season finale (Game 16) of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League against KT Wiz 6-2 on April 22 at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, South Korea.
SSG’s six-game winning streak, which came 171 days after their April 4 win over the Incheon Doosan Bears, moved them past KT into fifth place. SSG’s reclaiming of fifth place was the first time in 31 days since August 22 against the Jamsil LG Twins, marking a major turnaround for the team that dropped to eighth place after losing three straight games against Jamsil LG on April 4. It also restored their season record of 68 wins, 2 draws, 68 losses and 5.5 percent winning percentage.
Ace Kim Kwang-hyun played a big role in the victory, as he pitched six innings of one-hit ball with four walks, five strikeouts and no runs on 93 pitches to earn his 11th win of the season. He lowered his ERA from 5.19 to 4.99 to lead the league.
In last place is KT Uhm Sang-baek with a 5.04 ERA.
Kim Kwang-hyun, who had been vulnerable to KT, pitched a one-hit shutout until the sixth inning to secure the win against KT, the first in 774 days since August 10, 2022, in Incheon. It had been a whopping 1975 days since April 27, 2019, since he had won against Suwon. In addition to his 148-kilometer fastball, he mixed in curveballs, sliders, and changeups at the right times, with his main weapon being his slider.
He was followed by Seo Jin-yong (1 inning, 2 runs), Moon Seung-won (1 inning, no runs), Han Doo-sol (0 innings, no runs), and Cho Byung-hyun (1 inning, no runs), with the latter earning his first double-digit save of his career.
At the plate, super rookie Park Ji-hwan went 2-for-4 with two doubles, two home runs, two RBIs and two runs scored, including his first career multi-homer game, 파워볼실시간 while Park Sung-hwan reached double digits in home runs for the first time in his career with a game-winning two-run shot in the top of the sixth inning. Ha Jae-hoon, who also contributed with his aggressive baserunning and hustle, was one of the key players in the win.
The manager credited the Landers’ teamwork for their six-game winning streak and fifth-place finish.
“It was an important two-game series, but we won six straight with good balance and focus in the two-hitter. The players have been preparing well lately, knowing the importance of the games. New players have been performing well every game. I think it’s the strength of the team.”
The cooler weather has also played a part in the resurgence of SSG’s Fall DNA. Ace Kim Kwang-hyun said, “The average age of our team is high. We have a lot of people in their 80s in the lineup, so it was especially hard when it was hot, but it definitely got better as the weather improved. I hope the dome will be completed soon, and I hope all baseball stadiums will be dome stadiums,” he laughed.
SSG has been known as a fall powerhouse since the days of the SK Wyverns dynasty. In 2022, the team won the KBO’s first wire-to-wire regular season title and then went on to win the Korean Series. And this year, as the weather turns cooler, the fall DNA is coming out.
“You can’t ignore the tradition that’s been passed down from the seniors. I think the players are a little more focused in the fall. There are many players who have been playing fall baseball since they were young, including me. I think we can be a little stronger in the fall because we have a lot of experience.”
SSG reclaimed fifth place and narrowed the gap to the fourth-place Doosan Bears to one game.
They will meet Doosan in Jamsil on the 23rd. They have played two games less than Doosan, so if they can win the game on the 23rd, they can clinch fourth place themselves. In that case, hosting the deciding game for the Literature Wild Card will become a reality rather than a dream.
“We will forget about the joy of today’s (22nd) victory and prepare well for the remaining six games, including tomorrow’s (23rd) match against Doosan,” Lee said.
Kim Kwang-hyun said, “I think it’s better to go along with the calm waves than to have the atmosphere go up when we do well and down when we don’t. We need to be a team that doesn’t take chances,” he said, adding, ”If we focus on every at-bat and every batter like we are now, we will have good results in the remaining games.”