Suddenly, the top ranks began to shake up. The gap between 1st place LG Twins and 2nd place KT Wiz is 5.5 games, and the gap between KT and 6th place Doosan Bears is 6 games.안전놀이터
There are 5 teams in the 6 games, including KT, 3rd place SSG Landers, 4th place KIA Tigers, 5th place NC Dinos, and 6th place Doosan.
Now it is impossible to know who will get a direct ticket to the playoffs. The top ranks fell into chaos.
KIA Tigers are creating a new wind. KIA climbed to 4th place with a whopping 8 consecutive wins. As of August 23, KIA was ranked 6th with 48 wins, 2 draws, and 50 losses. At the time, it was 7.5 games behind KT in second place. However, the starters showed strength and showed off tremendous firepower in batting, winning 8 consecutive games, and with 56 wins, 2 draws, and 50 losses, they finished in 4th and 5th place without a win against the NC Dinos (57 wins, 2 draws, and 51 losses). The gap with KT was reduced to 3.5 games and with SSG to 1.5 games. This is a situation where the rankings can change at any time depending on the winning streak.
KT, which was chasing LG in August with a whopping 19 wins and 4 losses and a huge rise of 80.26 li, suddenly lost strength in September. A ridiculous thing happened, with the team losing 3 times in a row to Kiwoom Heroes.
SSG, whose winning percentage fell to 40% for two consecutive months with 6 wins and 8 losses in July and 10 wins and 13 losses in August, was swept in three weekend games against KIA, which is on the rise, in September, and with four consecutive losses, its third place position is in jeopardy.
There is only a 4-game gap with 6th-place Doosan. On the 3rd, they started to change the atmosphere by changing the hitting and pitching coaches, but they ended up losing and were unable to turn the atmosphere around.
LG also had a disappointing performance against the Hanwha Eagles over the weekend with a losing series of 1 win and 2 losses, but maintained its first place position as KT and SSG were swept.
In this situation, LG and KT will play a three-game series of the ‘Preview Korean Series’ starting on the 5th. The difference between the two is 5.5 games, so it could be said to be a slightly bland ‘preview of the Korean Series.’ Still, LG, which has lost two games in a row, and KT, which has lost three games in a row, need to break their losing streak. LG must firmly push KT back and force them into a fight for second place with lower-ranked teams to move up to first place and determine the championship.
Since losing 4 times in a row on July 9, KT has not lost even 2 times in a row until August, but is in a state of shock after losing 3 times in a row to Kiwoom, which has been reduced to an underdog. On the other hand, if they had won three games in a row against Kiwoom, they could have narrowed the gap to 2.5 games and had a real battle for first place, so it was a disappointing three-game series. Still, if they break their losing streak against LG and achieve a winning series or sweep, a situation will be created where they can aim for first place again.
KT deployed three aces, including William Cuevas, Wes Benjamin, and Go Young-pyo, against LG. Cuevas is on an 8-game winning streak without a single loss this season. He definitely took a break after becoming the winning pitcher against Lotte on August 27th by allowing 1 run in 8 innings. Benjamin is the pitcher LG is most wary of. This season, LG and KT showed a favorable record of 5 wins and 5 losses, and all 4 of KT’s wins were due to Benjamin pitching. In fact, it can be said that LG only lost to Benjamin. Benjamin showed outstanding performance in 4 games against LG, with 4 wins, 0 losses, and an average ERA of 0.72. His hitting percentage is only .154 (14 hits in 91 at-bats). It is a definite natural enemy of LG.
Go Young-pyo is KT’s undisputed domestic ace and was called the ‘LG Killer’ in 2021. At that time, he achieved good results with 3 wins, 1 loss, and an average ERA of 1.73 in 6 games. However, last year, he gave up a lot of points with 2 wins, 1 loss, and an ERA of 5.19 in 5 games, and this year, he pitched in 3 games (2 as a starter), lost 1, and gave up a lot of points with an ERA of 6.57.
LG fights back with Choi Won-tae, Casey Kelly, and Lee Jeong-yong. Choi Won-tae came to LG in a 3-to-1 trade and was called ‘the pinnacle of victory,’ but his performance since coming to LG is not very good, with 2 wins, 2 losses, and an ERA of 7.00. In particular, on August 25th, his previous appearance against Changwon NC, he performed poorly, allowing as many as 15 hits and allowing 11 runs (9 earned) in 4 innings. Accordingly, Coach Yeom skipped Choi Won-tae’s appearance once when it was canceled due to rain and played against KT. Choi Won-tae has never pitched against KT this season.
Kelly is coming back to life recently. With Adam Plutko out due to injury, he needs to play the role of an ace, but he is finding stability by recording quality starts in the last three games in a row. I have painful memories from before KT, so I need to get revenge. He faced KT in the opening game on April 1 and became the losing pitcher, allowing 8 hits and 6 runs in 5⅓ innings. The second meeting in Jamsil on July 6 was not good either, allowing 7 hits and 5 runs in 5⅔ innings. But the team won 8 to 7.
Lee Jeong-yong emerged as LG’s real ace in the second half of the season. He has shown tremendous pitching, allowing only 2 runs in 23 innings in the last 4 games. In 4 games, 3 wins, 0 losses, and an average ERA of only 0.78. The forkball he reinstalled after switching to the starting role showed its power and a new pitcher was born. Jeongyong Lee met with KT on July 27th. At the time, he had allowed 7 hits and 4 runs in 4 innings. The team won 9 to 6 after a blowout battle. However, Lee Jeong-yong then and now is a completely different pitcher.
The KIA-Doosan match is definitely a game that attracts attention. KIA, whose batting skills have improved, and Doosan, who is coming off a match against Lotte in Busan on the 4th, meet and wonder what kind of game they will play during the three-game series. NC meets Kiwoom in Changwon, and SSG meets Hanwha in Daejeon. Kiwoom achieved 3 consecutive wins against KT, and Hanwha is also on the rise with 2 consecutive wins after losing 1st place to LG.