The competition to rank fifth in the professional baseball league is going unpredictable. The KT Wiz, SSG Landers, and Hanwha Eagles ranked fifth and seventh by one game, both of which were close together. All three teams are likely to feel relieved about the loss of their competitors, while missing the opportunity to advance.메이저사이트
KT, ranked fifth, lost 1-6 against LG in Jamsil on the 27th. Wes Benjamin, a left-hander who is strong against LG, started the game, but lost five innings with six hits, two walks, two strikeouts, and four runs (two earned runs) due to overlapping errors. He got on base 10 times with seven hits and three walks, but his batting cohesion was disappointing.
The sixth-ranked SSG lost to the Kia Tigers in Gwangju in the 4-10th inning and the fifth inning. Starting pitcher Roenis Elias allowed nine hits (one homer), two strikeouts, and seven runs early in the three innings, sending the game into a downward spiral. In the fifth inning, the team’s batters followed by scoring four runs, but the game ended due to rain.
Hanwha, ranked seventh, which had strong momentum recently, also lost 1-3 at the match against Sajik Lotte. Starting pitcher Moon Dong-ju pitched six innings of seven hits, no outs, no outs, no strikeouts, and no run, but Han Seung-hyuk and Kim Seo-hyun, who had to win, were hit hard and gave up three runs in the eighth inning. The batters were also blocked by Lotte’s mound and only scored one point.
KT was expected to gain the upper hand in the fight for fifth place by banking on the strength of its pitching staff, but has been faltering since August with 10 wins and 12 losses (.455) in total. It is regrettable that the team ranked eighth in the OPS in August (.761). The team has had nine ups and downs, with three scoreless matches, one scoreless matches, three matches, and two scores and three matches.
SSG is ranking ninth in the monthly ranking in August with 7 wins and 15 losses. Its pitching and hitting cycles dropped to a rock bottom as it ranked 10th in ERA (6.25) and 9th in OPS (.725). Since its 50% win rate, which it maintained until July, has collapsed, it has yet to recover. The team’s come-from-behind loss has significantly reduced its bullpen strength.
Hanwha’s pace is the best as it ranked second in a month with 13 wins and eight losses in August. However, its actual winning rate is .518 in August, which is more than 10 percent higher. In other words, it is the result of the skill and luck of bench management. It is time for the team to lose pace once.
KT, SSG and Hanwha all now have 25 remaining games to play. Each game carries a lot of weight. However, there is no so-called “vending machine” team this year due to the all-time high level of power in the league. Kia ranks first in the league, but second to fourth place teams Samsung, LG and Doosan are also competing each other by two and 2.5 games, respectively. Until the end of the season, all teams are fighting with their utmost efforts to stay calm.
The eighth-ranked Lotte Giants also has a three-game deficit against fifth-ranked KT, which has yet to completely give up. Lotte has the most remaining 28 games to play. It has seven more games to play against Hanwha and three more games each against KT and SSG, which could potentially enable Lotte to clinch the top-five casting vote.
Through Sunday, KT ranked fifth with a winning rate of 488. Under the 10-team system that started in 2015, SK (.4859) in 2015, Kia (.490) in 2016, Kia (.4861) in 2018, and Kia (.490) in 2022) have secured the tickets for the last train of the postseason. The trend is that a team with the lowest winning rate in history, which is lower than SK in 2015, could emerge. As such, the team is in the midst of chaos that cannot be predicted.