SSG’s fourth shutout in last seven games…chasing second place
Heredia injury bug bites with 2nd highest batting average of the season
8th worst team batting average in the second half of the season
The rebound of leadoff hitter Shin-Soo Choo is promising
바카라 At the start of the second half of the KBO on the 21st of last month, 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 narrowed the gap to 0.5 games. However, the momentum of the chase didn’t last long. Instead, SSG found themselves being chased by teams from below.
As of the eighth day, SSG sits in second place with a record of 52 Wins, 1 Draw and 40 Losses (0.565), five games behind league leaders LG (57 Wins, 2 Draws and 35 Losses – 0.620). NC and KT, who are currently racking up wins at a furious pace, trail SSG by three games each.
SSG has gone 6-8 (0.429) in the second half of the season, a winning percentage of less than five per cent. 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 just 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 of the batting lineup, SSG was shut out four times in seven games in August. On the first day of the month, SSG lost 0-8 against KT in Suwon after being held in check by an eight-inning no-hitter from opposing starter Ko Young-pyo, and then lost 0-1 the following day after being held in check by a seven-inning no-hitter from KT starter William Cuevas. The SSG bats were lethargic, unable to get rid of their in-form starting pitcher quickly enough or score runs against their rotation.
SSG also lost their last two games without scoring a run. In particular, in the 0-1 loss to Sasik Lotte on the 6th, they fell victim to the third team “no-hitter” in KBO history, failing to get a single hit against starters Aaron Wilkerson (7 innings), Koo Seung-min (1 inning), and Kim Won-joong (1 inning). SSG also failed to hit the NC mound against Incheon NC on the 8th, falling to 0-2, including Eric Peddie.
Eredia
SSG’s struggles were compounded by a general lack of hitting from the batsmen. Outfielder Guillermo Heredia, who is second in the league in batting average (.332), has been sidelined with a thigh injury. Heredia is expected to be out for four weeks. With the centre of the batting order missing, the challenge will be to find a way to get the whole team hitting quickly.
Choo Shin-soo
There is a silver lining to the crisis. After a slow start to the season, top hitter Shin-soo Choo has rebounded to give the SSG batting line-up a boost. He’s 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 season, has found its groove and is pitching to the second-best ERA in the league (3.28). ‘Chasing second place’ SSG’s future in the remaining 51 games will depend on the resurgence of the bats.