A bat in the heat…ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
At the start of the second half of the KBO on March 21, SSG’s eyes were on leader LG. At the time, the gap between the two teams was only 2.5 games, and early in the second half, SSG closed the gap to 0.5 games. However, the momentum didn’t last long. Instead, SSG found themselves being chased by teams from below.
After eight days, SSG sits in second place with a record of 52 Wins, 1 Draw and 40 Losses (0.565), five games behind league leader LG (57 Wins, 2 Draws and 35 Losses – 0.620). NC and KT, who are currently racking up wins in a furious fashion, are trailing SSG by three games each.
SSG is 6-8 (.429) in the second half of the season, a winning percentage of less than 5%. The most glaring problem is a batting lineup that has lost steam. SSG has hit the most home runs in the league this season (83). That’s 19 more than second-place Doosan (64). Their on-base percentage (.390) is also tied with LG, so their explosiveness is hard to beat. However, in the second half of the season, SSG’s bats went cold. In this period, SSG’s team batting average is 0.247 (7th) and its batting average with runners in scoring position is 0.240 (8th). The power of the team’s long balls also diminished.
Along with the downward spiral, SSG was shut out four times in the first seven games of August. On August 1 against KT in Suwon, SSG lost 0-8 after being held in check by an eight-inning no-hitter from opposing starter Ko Young-pyo, and then lost 0-1 the next day after being held in check by a seven-inning no-hitter from KT starter William Cuevas. The SSG offense was lethargic, unable to get out of the gate quickly enough to knock off the in-form starting pitcher, or to score runs against the rotation.
SSG also lost their last two games without scoring a run. In particular, in the 0-1 loss to Sasik Lotte on June 6, the team fell victim to the third team “no-hitter” in KBO history, failing to collect a single hit against starters Aaron Wilkerson (7 innings), Koo Seung-min (1 inning), and Kim Won-joong (1 inning). SSG also failed to capitalize on the NC mound, including Eric Peddie, against the Incheon NC on Aug. 8, falling to 0-2.
A general lack of hitting from the field has added to a troubled SSG. Outfielder Guillermo Heredia, who is second in the league in batting average (.332), is out with a thigh injury. Heredia is expected to be out for four weeks. Without the centerpiece of their batting order, the challenge will be to get the rest of the team hitting quickly. 토토사이트
There are comforts in crisis. Top hitter Choo Shin-soo has rebounded from his early-season slump to provide a much-needed boost to the SSG lineup. He is batting .327 with an OPS of .879 in 14 games in the second half. Additionally, the starting pitching staff, which was shaky in the first half of the year, has found its groove and is pitching to the second-best ERA in the league (3.28). The next 51 games for the ‘chasing pack’ SSG will depend on a resurgent batting lineup.