Doosan beat Samsung, which had been underperforming. SSG broke the LG jinx, and NC, which had fallen to the bottom, got out of a long-running 11-game losing streak. It has managed to catch Lotte, whose game had been tight, whenever it met even the leading Kia Tigers. Monday was a day of reversal that broke inertia.스포츠토토
Doosan has been particularly weak against Samsung this season. It was not just because of its poor performance. The starting pitcher was suddenly removed ahead of the game. The ace pitcher whom I trusted also experienced bad luck as he voluntarily left the mound due to pain while pitching. He hurriedly replaced the starter and put up the middle pitcher who was not fully recovered, but it was difficult to hold on. He only had two wins and 11 losses in 13 matches with Samsung before the game.
In Sunday’s game, starter Choi Won-joon allowed two runs in the second inning, giving up a point first. Samsung phobia hit me again. Breaking the trend was Jared Young, a new foreign hitter. He hit a 130-meter home run over the fence in right-center of Pohang in the fourth inning with no runners on base. It was his seventh home run in 18 games for Doosan. Doosan turned the tables with three runs scored in the fifth inning, and Kim Jae-hwan’s home run in the sixth inning gave up one more run. Starting pitcher Choi Won-joon held on without any additional runs through the fifth inning, and Hong Gun-hee, Lee Byung-hun, Choi Ji-gang and Kim Taek-yeon held on without allowing any runs in each of the first innings from the sixth inning. It was a typical game for Doosan to score points through long balls and hit the opponent with the strength of its bullpen.
Doosan celebrated its victory with a rich record. Closer Kim Taek-yeon posted his 16th save, the most by a high school graduate, and Cho broke the club record with his 58th stolen base. However, it was more meaningful that he woke up from a dreadful game against Samsung.
At Jamsil Stadium, Samsung’s first starter Roenis Elias pitched seven scoreless innings to catch LG. Elias, who had four runs in 20 innings and two wins and no loss with a 1.80 ERA in three starts against LG last season, showed off his prowess as a “LG killer.” Prior to the game, SSG met LG 11 times, winning two and tying the game once. He lost eight times.
The leading Kia Tigers and the bottom-ranked NC Dinosaurs had different results but enjoyed a come-from-behind victory. Kia, which had been struggling only with Lotte, secured a come-from-behind victory at its home in Gwangju by 6-5, one-point difference, as it caught up with all the games that it was leading by 13 points and had a draw. It was all the more joy because the sudden downpour caused the team to suffer a cold defeat by rainfall during the game. The team also expressed regret that it cancelled the previous day’s game due to rain. The NC Dinosaurs defeated the Hanwha Eagles by 8-2 with Kim Hyung-joon’s three-base hit and Lee Yong-joon’s five scoreless innings. The team has won the game for the first time in 17 days since last Friday.
With more than 25 games left in each club, the leading KIA has solidified its dominance, and Samsung, LG, and Doosan, which are ranked second to fourth, are competing among the top five teams, widening the gap with the top five teams. With SSG and KT vying for the last ticket to the semifinals, Hanwha and Lotte are looking for a chance. NC and Kiwoom have become quite distant from the middle-ranked teams.
The unprecedentedly tight ranking seems to be getting sorted out to some extent. However, the season is not completely over yet. Once consecutive wins and losses are mixed, the possibility of a final reversal cannot be ruled out. All teams aiming for higher rankings than now are aiming for a final turnaround of the season.