I forgot how to win. For the first time since its foundation, the NC Dinos have accepted the shocking result of “10 consecutive losses.”먹튀검증
NC lost 3-5 at home against the Samsung Lions in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Changwon NC Park on the 18th, falling into a 10-game losing streak.
NC has won nine consecutive games each in 2013, the first year of entering the first division (one draw and nine losses, against the Hanwha Eagles on April 16 to the Doosan Bears on April 28), and in 2018 (against the SK Wyverns on April 5 to April 15), when it ranked 10th for the first time in its foundation. NC, which had reached the tie record of nine consecutive losses the previous day (17th), eventually failed to avoid the record of the most consecutive losses in the club’s history.
On Monday, NCs starting pitcher Lee Jae-hak raced against Samsungs powerful batters, who are ranking first in home runs (49) and OPS (0.844) in the second half of the year, by allowing eight hits and three runs in five innings. However, the batters were tightly tied to Samsung`s starting pitcher Baek Jeong-hyun (who allowed six hits and no runs in seven innings).
He didn’t have a chance at all. After losing 0-1, Park Min-woo made a chance to score with a double at the bottom of the first inning, but Kwon Hee-dong failed to score because he was out after hitting a fly ball to right field.
At the bottom of the fifth inning, when the gap widened to 3-0, Park Se-hyuk and Kim Joo-won had hits to secure a chance for the first and second bases with one out. However, Choi Jeong-won only sent the runner on the second base to the third base with a ground ball to the first base, and Seo Ho-cheol struck out with two outs and runners on the first and third bases. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Kim Soo-yoon’s error on base and Kim Joo-won’s hit set the table for the first and second bases after two outs, but Choi Jeong-won lost the opportunity with a ground ball to the second base.
After Baek Jeong-hyeon went down, NC`s batters, which had been tight, began to penetrate little by little. Seo Ho-cheol’s infield hit and Park Min-woo’s double in the bottom of the eighth inning created a golden opportunity for runners on the second and third bases with no outs. After Kwon Hee-dong struck out, the third baseman hit a home run when Kim hit a ground ball to shortstop, breaking the long 0 streak. However, with runners on the third base with two outs and a third baseman, Chun Jae-hwan failed to score additional points. One run with runners on the second and third bases with no outs was disappointing.
In the top of the ninth inning, NC faced a two-out full base crisis caused by an error, and Kim Si-hoon hit a two-run timely hit by Koo Ja-wook, widening the gap to 1-5. NC, which created a scoring chance with Park Se-hyuk’s double in the bottom of the ninth inning, recorded two outs in an instant as Park Si-won struck out and Kim Joo-won retired with a fly ball to the third baseman.
NC, which recovered one run thanks to Choi Jeong-won’s timely hit, had a chance to garner the first and second bases with two outs thanks to Seo Ho-cheol’s hit, before Park Min-woo’s timely hit hit to keep the score at 3-5. However, the team ended its pursuit there. With two outs and runners on the first and second bases, Kwon Hee-dong stepped down with a fly ball to the right field, and the chance for a final counterattack disappeared.
In the early days of this season, the NC Dinosaurs closely followed the top-ranked KIA Tigers and engaged in a race for the top spot. Through May 22, when the team played 33 percent of the regular season, it had 27 wins, one draw and 20 losses (winning rate of 0.574) in 48 games, trailing Kia by two games. Since then, however, the team has seen a gradual decline, finishing the first half in sixth place.
NCs chances of playing in fall baseball seemed high as it was in sixth place, lagging behind fifth-ranked SSG Landers in terms of winning percentage. However, NCs team plunged into a shock slump of 9 wins and 20 losses (0.310 win percentage) in the second half. It has not had a single win in the last 10 games, and has thus posted 10 consecutive losses, dropping to ninth place (49 wins, two draws and 61 losses) overall. It is only one game away from the 10th-ranked Kiwoom Heroes (50 wins, 64 losses, 0.439 win percentage). Having sought the No. 1 ranking just three months ago, NC is now in a position to worry about falling to the bottom.