SSG Landers completed a big inning, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to win a thrilling upset over the Lotte Giants and regain first place.
SSG defeated Lotte 8-5 in their regular-season home game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League on Sunday at SSG Landers Field in Michuhol-gu, Incheon.메이저사이트
With the sweep, SSG improved to 38 wins, one draw, and 23 losses, knocking the LG Twins (38 wins, two draws, and 24 losses), who lost to the Doosan Bears on the same day, out of second place and into first place by 0.5 games. Fourth-place Lotte, with 31 wins and 28 losses, is 2.5 games further behind the third-place NC Dinos.
It was the fourth full crowd at SSG Landers Field this season. Following the opening two games against the KIA Tigers on April 1 and 2 and the Hanwha Eagles on May 13, all 23,000 seats were sold out by 5:15 p.m.
In front of such a full house, SSG delivered an upset. The deciding game came in the bottom of the eighth inning, when SSG trailed 1-5. Lotte’s bases were loaded three times, starting with Kim Jin-wook’s bad pitch. The pitching duo of Koo Seung-min and Kim Won-joong took over, but gave up four hits and allowed the tying run to score. With SSG trailing by one run after a pushout and a groundout, Jeon Ui-san hit a three-run homer to left-center field with the bases loaded to win the game.
SSG starter Kim Kwang-hyun pitched a solid five innings, allowing three runs on six hits (one home run) with five walks and four strikeouts. At the plate, game-winning hitter Jeon Eui-san went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs, while leadoff hitter Choo Shin-soo went 2-for-4 with a walk, a hit-by-pitch, two strikeouts and two runs scored. Ahn Sang-hyun, who came in as a pinch-hitter, also had an Altoran-like performance, going 2-for-2 with one RBI.
Meanwhile, Lotte starter Park Se-woong earned a quality start plus and his sixth consecutive quality start with seven innings of three-hit ball, two walks and one strikeout, but was unable to secure the win in the loss. At the plate, Jeon Jun-woo went 4-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs, and a walk, and Kim Min-seok went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs, and a stolen base, but they were unable to capitalize on Pil Seung-jo’s pitching struggles.
SSG vs Lotte starting lineup on June 14
SSG’s Park Sung-seong (left) and Lotte’s Ko Seung-min. /Photo=SSG Landers, Lotte Giants
SSG’s batting order was Choo Shin-soo (designated hitter), Choi Ji-hoon (center field), Choi Jeong (third base), Guillermo Heredia (left field), Park Sung-seong (shortstop), Oh Tae-gon (right field), Jeonsan (first base), Kim Min-sik (catcher), and Choi Kyung-mo (second base). The starting pitcher was Kim Kwang-hyun.
Lotte’s batting order was Go Seung-min (1B), Jeon Jun-woo (designated hitter), Ahn Chi-hong (2B), Jack Rex (LF), Han Dong-hee (3B), Yoon Dong-hee (R), Yoo Kang-nam (catcher), Lee Hak-joo (shortstop), and Kim Min-seok (center field). The starting pitcher was Park Se-woong.
Before the game, SSG head coach Kim Won-hyung announced that second baseman Choi Joo-hwan was out of the starting lineup. Choi, who was substituted in the previous day’s game due to pain in his left heel, will pinch-hit in the second half of the game. Park Sung-ho, who batted sixth the previous day and went 1-for-1 with a walk, three strikeouts and one run scored, was moved to the fifth spot. Manager Kim Won-hyung said, “For the third year in a row, the batting order of Choo Shin-soo, Choi Ji-hoon, and Han Yoo-seom were hitting well. But without (Han) Yoo-seom, we are being pulled one by one. Sung-han’s No. 2 spot is a little harder physically when he plays shortstop and goes to the front of the batting order.”
Lotte came out with an unconventional lineup, batting Go Seung-min at No. 1, who is hitting just .160 (4-for-25) against left-handed pitching. However, the team trusted Go’s recent hitting form (.556 in seven games). Lotte manager Larry Sutton said, “Ahn Kwon-soo, who has been playing the No. 1 role, is out with an injury. Hwang Sung-bin and Kim Min-seok, who also played that role, have not been hitting well lately,” he said. “It’s very important for the No. 1 hitter to get on base, so we’ve been looking for players who have been hitting well lately, and Go Seung-min recently showed good form with two hits against left-handers.” “The team as a whole has been hitting poorly for a few weeks now. We felt that we needed to get some runs from the top of the order in order to find a breakthrough in this situation, so this is the lineup we chose.”
Kim Kwang-hyun faltered, but Han Dong-hee helped… Byeong-sal, Byeong-sal, and two-run ball
SSG’s Kim Kwang-hyun pitches against Lotte in Incheon on Sunday.
Lotte’s Han Dong-hee (right) laments a ball hit to center field in the top of the fifth inning against SSG in Incheon on Sunday.
Kim Kwang-hyun, who returned to the field after being suspended for drinking alcohol at the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), had two consecutive bad games. In the first inning, he gave up back-to-back singles to Ko Seung-min, Jeon Jun-woo, and Ahn Chi-hong. Neither his long slider nor his changeup worked. Fortunately, he was able to get the next batter, Rex, to fly out to left field and Han Dong-hee to ground out.
In the second inning, the crisis continued. Against a shaky Kim Kwang-hyun, leadoff hitter Yoon Dong-hee singled to left and Yoo Kang-nam took a two-pitch curveball (115 kilometers per hour) and launched it over the left field wall. The second home run of the season with a distance of 110 meters. This time, it was Lotte who used their quick feet to shake Kim Kwang-hyun. Kim Min-seok hit an outside slider from Kim Kwang-hyun that was hard bound for the shortstop. Park Sung-ho caught it and tried to throw it to first, but Kim Min-seok reached first early. Kim promptly stole second base to put runners in scoring position. The first call was an out, but the video review overturned it to a save.
Kim Kwang-hyun was not so lucky. Jeon Jun-woo hit a grounder that went over his head. Kwang-hyun tried to jump and catch it, but he couldn’t, and the throw to first base was short, putting runners on first and third. Ahn Chi-hong singled to center field, but second baseman Choi Kyung-mo missed the throw to second base, allowing third baseman Kim Min-seok to score. The only consolation was that Ahn was able to throw to first base and catch Jeon Jun-woo to end the inning.
Han Dong-hee saved the day for Kim Kwang-hyun. Following his first at-bat, he did the same in the top of the third.