SSG Landers’ winning streak stopped at six. The clumsy all-out fight turned into poison and the joy of jumping to the fifth place ended in just one day.안전놀이터
SSG lost 4-8 to the Doosan Bears in Game 16 of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Sunday. Not only did it end its six-game winning streak, but it also saw its ranking fall from fifth to sixth.
On this day, SSG formed a lineup consisting of Jihoon Choi (center fielder), Jung Joon-jae (second baseman), Choi Jung (third baseman), Eredia (left fielder), Han Yu-sum (right fielder), Park Sung-han (striker), Park Ji-hwan (designated hitter), Lee Ji-young (catcher), and Ko Myung-jun (first baseman).
He got off to a good start. Runners gathered in the top of the first inning with leadoff hitter Jihoon Choi’s single to the right and bunt hit by Jeong Joon-jae. Choi Jeong’s surprise bunt was caught on a catcher’s foul fly, which cut off the flow, but fourth batter Herredia stepped in as the troubleshooter. Herredia’s timely RBI hit gave SSG a 1-0 lead.
SSG’s score was overturned 1-3 when starting pitcher Song Young-jin allowed Doosan’s Kim Jae-hwan to hit a come-from-behind two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning and Cho Ha-sung to hit an RBI timely hit in the bottom of the second inning, but the batting line was strong. Jung Joon-jae and Park Sung-han’s RBI timely hit in the top of the third inning balanced the game 3-3.
SSG succeeded in turning the tables in the top of the fourth inning. With one out at the top of the fourth inning, it threw a game-winner to put pinch runner Oh Tae-gon after Ko Myung-joon got on base with a walk. Oh stole second when Jihoon Choi was at bat, and gained the opportunity to score. Immediately, Jihoon Choi hit a timely RBI single to take the lead 4-3.
Starting pitcher Song Young-jin, who was unstable early in the game, also stabilized. He successively retired Doosan’s batters in the bottom of the third and fourth innings, successively blocking the team’s pursuit.
The trouble was in the bottom of the fifth inning. Song sent out leadoff hitter Cho Ha-yeong with a hit to the midfielder and even walked Jeong Su-bin to get on base, causing crisis on the first and second bases with no outs. The SSG bench had Seo Jin-yong and Han Doo-sol on standby early on in the game when Song was on shaky ground, but at that time, he trusted Song instead of replacing the pitcher.
The result theory is that this decision was the worst move for SSG. Song Young-jin gave up a walk to Kim Jae-ho, aggravating the situation with no outs and the bases loaded. SSG belatedly replaced Seo with Seo, but Seo could not overcome the pressure of loading the bases with no outs and no outs.
Seo Jin-yong had a two-run timely hit by Jarrod Young and a one-run timely hit by Kim Jae-hwan. The score was overturned to 4-6, and the game flow moved toward Doosan. Seo Jin-yong prevented the continued crisis of additional runs with one out and runners on the second and third bases by striking out Kim Ki-yeon and Jeon Min-jae, but he had already allowed a turnaround.
Prior to the game, SSG coach Lee Soo-yong announced that right-hander Moon Seung-won was unable to take the mound due to right upper arm muscle discomfort. Depending on the situation, setup man Noh Kyung-eun, who took a break the previous day, was taken as long as possible, and Seo Jin-yong and Han Doo-sol were placed on standby after starting pitcher Song Young-jin. Emphasizing that closer Cho Byung-hyun’s third consecutive game is also possible, he said, “I plan to go all out.”
However, it was ambiguous to say that the team staged an all-out war by delaying the timing of replacement of pitchers until the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the fifth inning when the team was leading 4-3. Perhaps due to consideration of players’ physical exhaustion during the process of six consecutive wins, the team postponed operation of the bullpen, and the result came from behind to lose.
Due to the loss, SSG posted 68 wins, 69 losses and two draws for this season, falling behind KT (69 wins, 70 losses and two draws). As the gap with Doosan widened to two games (71-68 losses and two draws), it would be impossible to regain fourth place by itself even if it wins all of the remaining games (5). If it had won the game on the day, it would have been more regretful because it would have been able to rise to fourth place.
Another burden is that SSG has played two less games than KT. Only when it wins both games can it beat KT in terms of winning percentage. For SSG, its miraculous fall baseball challenge has become tough in many ways.