SSG Landers, who recaptured 1st place in six days. It was all the more meaningful because it was a victory that was protected without putting in a closer who needed a break.
SSG won 9-7 in the 3rd game of 3 consecutive weekends against the 2023 KBO League Kiwoom Heroes held at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 23rd. The LG Twins, who were in first place, lost 6-7 to the Hanwha Eagles in the Daejeon expedition, and the win rate dropped to 0.650 (13-7), and SSG, which recorded an odds rate of 0.667 (12-6), rose to the top again after the 18th. stood
It was not an easy match. SSG took a 3-0 lead at the end of the 3rd inning with Choi Jeong hitting a 3-run homer, but starting pitcher Oh Won-seok faltered and allowed a one-run chase. Choi Jung hit a timely hit again in the 4th inning and took a 2-run lead, but bullpen pitchers Baek Seung-gun and Lee Row-un tied the game 4-4 at the beginning of the 7th inning. At the end of the 7th inning, Joo-Hwan Choi, who came on as a pinch hitter, hit a two-run homer again, but Min-Jun Choi hit Edison Russell with 2 RBIs on defense in the beginning of the 8th inning and tied the game.
The batting line took the lead again at the end of the 8th inning against Kiwoom finishing pitcher Kim Jae-woong. In the 1st and 1st and 2nd bases, Guillermo Heredia hit left-handedly and Oh Tae-gon hit 2 RBIs timely, taking a 9-6, 3-point lead.
Kiwoom’s concentration was also good. The problem is that before the game, coach Kim Won-hyung said that he would give closer pitcher Seo Jin-yong a break after 3 consecutive fights, from the KT Wiz match on the 20th to the 1st and 2nd matches of the 3rd Kiwoom match. I couldn’t guarantee it depending on the situation, but it was director Kim Won-hyung who tried not to use it as much as possible in general situations.
The pitcher on the mound in the beginning of the ninth inning was Noh Kyung-eun, a 40-year-old veteran of our age. In the same situation against the Hanwha Eagles on the 9th, he fulfilled his mission by striking out three in one inning.
Noh Kyung-eun, who struck out Hwi-jip Kim, who was the first batter he faced, gave up his momentum, giving up a right-handed hit to Byeong-wook Lim and a walk to Ji-young Lee. He was hit in the middle left by Jeon Byeong-woo and allowed Lim Byung-wook to score. In Kim Hye-sung’s at-bat, he even committed wildfire and tied the score. Kim Hye-seong allowed to go on base with a walk. 안전놀이터
In this situation, Noh Kyung-eun kept the lead by inducing 5 (3rd baseman) 4 (2nd baseman) 3 (1st baseman) double hits against Lee Hyeong-jong, the main hitter of Kiwoom. After showing a two-seam fastball in the first pitch, he shook his hitting point with an outside (by right-handed hitter) high course slider. Roh Kyung-eun, who recorded 4 holds and 1 save in the preceding 9 games, added 1 more save.
Before the game, coach Kim Won-hyung expressed that he was having trouble managing breaks because there were a lot of pitchers in the bullpen in a tight game. In this situation, I couldn’t help but be grateful to Seo Jin-yong, who made 8 saves in 10 games he pitched in, often fought consecutively, and even pitched a scoreless pitch. There must have been a desire to prepare for a three-game match against LG, which is competing for the lead, by giving it a break from the game on this day (23rd).
Game 3 against Kiwoom, who desperately needed another bullpen pitcher to improve. He even faltered, allowing the game to be tied twice. However, veteran Noh Kyung-eun showed a pitch that relieved all the struggles of the command tower. The ‘defending champion’ SSG is cruising.