SSG Landers dropped to third place in a total disaster. The title leaders are gone.
SSG has lost five straight games, dropping to third place after the start of the season. The result is quite shocking. They were swept in a futile three-game series in Busan against the Lotte Giants, and before they could shake off the aftermath, they faced a tricky opponent in the first-place LG Twins. Unable to close out the series against LG, which went into extra innings from the first day of the series, SSG eventually ran out of cards and lost in the 12th inning. The next day, Kim Kwang-hyun collapsed, and the batting lineup missed chance after chance. Five straight losses.
It’s a shocking report card for SSG, who held the top spot until the end of June and were leading the race to the top of the standings. KT Wiz’s dominant run has pushed them to second and SSG to third with 19 wins and losses. They are now nine games behind the leaders LG and have to worry about catching up to the fourth and fifth place teams.
The starting lineup, bullpen, offense, and defense are all shaky. In a long race, there’s usually at least one crisis where the entire team’s balance slips, and SSG is at its lowest point this sea안전놀이터son.
It’s times like these that you need a ‘fixer’, and right now we don’t have one. Especially in the center of the order. Guillermo Heredia’s injury has been felt especially strongly. The loss of Heredia, who had been consistently producing results at the plate, including batting first, has taken the edge off the team. As the weight of the center of the batting order dropped dramatically, the opposition to Choi Jung became even stronger, and the results were not good. Choi, who was in a home run race with Roh Si-hwan (Hanwha), is stuck at 21 home runs while Roh has surged to 29 home runs. Only closer Seo Jin-yong (Saves) remains in contention for the individual title.
Of course, it’s not too early to get your hopes up. There are still more than 40 games to go, and SSG needs to turn this crisis around somehow. The first step is to get back on track. Heredia, who was sidelined with a strained anterior thigh muscle, wasn’t expected to return until September, but if he recovers quickly, he could be back in action in a Futures League match as early as next weekend. If all goes well, a return to the first team is not far off. The younger you are, the more you need heroes.