SSG Landers dropped to fourth place.
SSG battled to an 8-8 draw against KT Wiz in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, South Korea, on April 9 in a game that went into extra innings. The KIA Tigers, who won both games of a doubleheader against the LG Twins in Gwangju on the same day, moved past SSG into fourth place. There is no game difference between the two teams. KIA has 59 wins, 2 ties, 52 losses, and a 0.532 winning percentage, while SSG has 61 wins, 2 ties, 54 losses, and a 0.530 winning percentage.
The first half of this season hasn’t been bad for SSG, who won the ‘wire-to-wire’ title last season. With 46 wins, 1 tie, and 32 losses, they finished the first half in second place, 2.5 games behind first-place LG. With the starters struggling, the bullpen stepped up to the plate.
However, in the second half, the bullpen was overloaded. SSG’s bullpen had an ERA of 3.34 in the first half of the season, ranking third behind KIA and LG. However, their second half ERA was 5.88. Only last-place Kiwoom (5.94) has a worse ERA than SSG.
In the end, it was inevitable that they would fall. The second half team batting average is 8th at .260 and the team ERA is 9th at 5.19. Neither batting performance is good, and neither are the results. In 38 games in the second half, the team is 15-1 with a .405 winning percentage. That’s eighth best in the second half alone.
SSG has one win, one draw, and six losses in eight games in September. They were swept in a three-game home series against KIA on the 1-3rd. They seemed to turn things around with a come-from-behind 11-6 win against the Hanwha Eagles on the 5th, but dropped the next two games. They have one draw and one loss against KT. For SSG, they need to avoid a three-game losing streak and turn things around.
SSG head coach Kim Won-hyung said on the 8th, “The atmosphere changes when you win a game. No matter how good we are, if bad things keep happening, the atmosphere will sag. That’s why it’s important to get one win right away. Then the mood can change dramatically.”안전놀이터
SSG, who dropped to fifth place, will be looking to end the week on a high note. SSG’s starting pitcher on Tuesday against Suwon KT will be Kirk McCarty. McCarty is 9-4 with a 2.87 ERA in 21 games with 46 runs (38 earned) in 119⅓ innings pitched. He struggled against Hanwha in Daejeon on May 5, allowing six runs (six earned) in three innings. Starting for KT is William Cuevas. In 13 games, he has 8 wins, 78 innings pitched, 26 runs (26 earned), and a 2.99 ERA. Cuevas also gave up four runs (four earned) in three innings against LG on May 5. He was removed from the game in the top of the fourth inning due to a 104-minute rain delay for player protection.