SSG Landers’ fall instincts have come back to haunt them.
SSG won their home game against the Kiwoom Heroes 8-6 at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on September 19th. The game was a close one, with a late-game struggle that included a three-run home run by Song Sung-moon in the top of the ninth inning, but SSG actually dominated Kiwoom throughout the day. The big hits in the fourth and sixth innings led to big runs, and the wedge in the bottom of the eighth inning was enough to secure the win.
It’s now four wins in a row, especially in the last 10 games, where they have the best pace among the last 10 clubs with 7 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses.
Their monthly results are also impressive. In September, the team won 7 games, drew 3 games, and lost 7 games for a winning percentage of 7 percent. The Kia Tigers, who clinched the regular season title, are second with a 9-4 record (.692) in September, but SSG has a better winning percentage.
The Tigers are still in sixth place, but there’s still hope. They are 2.5 games behind the fourth-place Doosan Bears and 1.5 games behind the fifth-place KT Wiz.
This makes last month’s performance even more disappointing.
SSG went 8-17 with a 0.320 winning percentage in August, which was supposed to be the start of their breakthrough month, and fell out of the top-five race with a ninth-place monthly finish.
A five-game winning streak at the end of July propelled them to fourth place, and they thought they could go much higher, 메이저사이트 but a string of losses in mid-August saw their win percentage plummet. At one point in early September, he dropped to eighth place.
In September, the mound stabilized and the team steadily racked up wins despite a number of injuries. New closer Cho Byung-hyun settled into the role perfectly, which also helped the team shut down the back door.
Last year, SSG was also in danger of missing out on the top five, but swept through the regular season with a ton of momentum in the final stretch to finish in third place. They’ve been particularly strong in the fall, and that momentum has continued this year.
However, the gap between them and their rivals is hard to close.
Doosan and KT have also regained their upward trend. After slipping to fifth place, Doosan has won four straight games, while KT hasn’t slowed down with six wins in 10 games. For SSG to pull off a fifth-place finish miracle, they’ll eventually need one of the teams above them to fall on a losing streak, and right now, it’s hard to see them slipping through the cracks.
After starting their hellish eight-game stretch with a win, SSG now have just eight games left as of the 20th. While they can’t completely erase the regret of what could have been had they gotten back into two-hit form sooner, the possibility is still alive.