The ‘Eternal Ace’ KK’s fate is in the balance after a shocking Game 1 loss at SSG, leaving only 12.5% real hope left.
In front of a packed stadium in Incheon, you’ve been dealt a shocking blow. Now they need to keep their heads up and keep their hopes alive.
SSG Landers lost the first game of the semifinals by one point.
SSG lost the first game of the semi-finals against the NC Dinos 3 to 4 at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on April 22.
It was a shocking loss for the defending champions in front of a sold-out crowd of 22,500 seats.
It was especially disappointing because starting pitcher Roenis Elias pitched the “game of his life”.
SSG sent their most reliable pitcher to the mound in Game 1, and as expected, he shut down the NC bats until the seventh inning with a no-hitter.
The problem was the bats. SSG didn’t score a single run until the seventh inning, despite creating more chances.
They set up a ‘table-setter’ with Oh Tae-gon and Park Sung-han against Shin Min-hyuk, but they continued to struggle as they missed chances after chances. Instead, they pushed forward with a strong offense, but the only result was a run.
Elias, who held up well until the seventh inning, gave up a leadoff single to pinch-hitter Kim Sung-wook in the eighth, and SSG fell apart.
In the bottom of the eighth, they scored a late run, but this time it was the bullpen that faltered. Noh Kyung-eun and Seo Jin-yong, 카지노사이트가이드 who have been ironclad all season, gave up back-to-back runs in the ninth. Ha Jae-hoon’s two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth was dramatic, but the damage was done.
Historically, a team that loses the first game of the semifinals has only a 12.5% (4/32) chance of making the playoffs.
The team started the series in a more favorable position by finishing the regular season in third place, but now they were in a position to upset.
SSG head coach Kim Won-hyung said after the Game 1 loss, “I think we lost because we had early scoring chances but couldn’t convert them into points. We didn’t seem to have any problems with our overall condition, but we just couldn’t get a single point.”
It’s not too early to give up hope. It’s a best-of-five series, so it’s still possible.
The most important thing is to win Game 2. They will have to travel to Changwon after finishing 1-1 at home.
SSG will start Kim Kwang-hyun in the second game in Incheon on the 23rd to fight back. They will have to rely on their ‘eternal ace’ Kim Kwang-hyun. The bullpen was solid in the regular season, but we learned from Game 1 that there are uncertainties in the short term. With the bats still not fully warmed up, Game 2 will depend on Kim Kwang-hyun to pitch as many scoreless innings as possible.
Kim is a veteran among veterans, having pitched in 22 postseason games. He may not be at his peak, but he’s an “ace” who can handle the pressure of a big game with poise and experience. He’s had some ups and downs this season, but has consistently gone at least five or six innings. He started the season finale against Doosan on the 17th, when the regular season standings were finalized, and pitched six scoreless innings to win the game, and will start the second game after five days of rest. Overcoming the pressure is key.
Now it’s up to the bats to help Kim Kwang-hyun. NC’s starting pitcher for Game 2 is Song “Young Gun” Myung-ki. The team will start Shin Min-hyuk and Song Myung-ki in Game 1 and Game 2 to give the “20-win pitcher” Eric Pedi more rest, but NC already has a successful Shin Min-hyuk card. Song Myung-ki was a surprise performer in the 2020 Korean Series championship. Given that SSG’s hitters find young pitchers more challenging than NC’s foreign pitchers, Game 2 will require a focused offense early on to have any chance of winning.