Reporter Jangwon Seo = The slumping second-place SSG Landers and the red-hot third-place NC Dinos will meet in Incheon. Both teams will be sending out their ace pitchers from the first game, and a fierce battle is expected.
SSG and NC will play a three-game midweek series at SSG Landers Field in Incheon starting on the 8th. SSG (52 wins, 1 loss, 39 draws) and NC (48 wins, 1 loss, 43 draws) are separated by four games. Depending on the outcome of the three-game series, SSG could solidify their second place, while NC could make the second place fight a tiebreaker.
The mood of the two teams heading into the match is very different. After finishing July with a 6-8 record (7th place), SSG faltered in the first week of August with a 2-4 record. In particular, they were pinned down by the Lotte Giants’ mound in a no-hitter on the 6th.
The loss of key hitter Guillermo Heredia to injury was particularly painful. With a thigh muscle injury that will take four weeks to recover from, Heredia is out for an extended period of time. Heredia’s absence from the batting lineup has been evident in recent games, deepening SSG’s worries.
On the other hand, NC’s mood is upbeat. They swept a three-game weekend series against the ninth-ranked Kiwoom Heroes, extending their winning streak to four games, and have been on an upward curve with two consecutive winning series against the Lotte Giants.
The Dinosaur Legion, in particular, has a potent batting lineup. NC posted a high team batting average of 0.315 last week. This is the third-best mark in the league. The offense was led by Park Gun-woo, Son As-seop, Kwon Hee-dong, and others. NC scored a total of 37 runs in six games last week. They averaged more than six runs per game.
This season, NC leads the head-to-head series between the two teams 6-2. In the most recent series, NC swept all three games.
Both SSG, looking to solidify their second place position and close the gap on the leaders LG Twins, and NC, looking for second place in the standings, have their work cut out for them. Both teams have announced their aces as starting pitchers.
NC will go with foreign pitcher Eric Peddie. Pedi is the best pitcher in the league right now. In 18 starts, he has a 14-3 record with a 2.10 ERA. He leads the league in wins and ERA. He’s also had 12 quality starts (6+ innings and 3 earned runs or less).
In one game against SSG, he pitched six innings of two-run ball to earn the win. He took the loss against the Lotte Giants on April 2, giving up five runs in four innings, but is still the most reliable starter in the NC.
SSG will be countered by Kim Kwang-hyun.먹튀검증
Kim is 6-3 with a 3.77 ERA in 17 games this season. Despite his lack of wins, he is responsible for the most wins among the team’s homegrown starters along with Oh Won-seok.
He didn’t fare well against NC. In Game 1, he struggled, giving up four runs in 4⅓ innings. However, he bounced back in his most recent outing with seven innings of one-run baseball against the KT Wiz on April 2, so he’ll be looking to redeem himself against NC.
The outcome of the first game could set the tone for the entire series, so both teams will be going all out for a win on Game 8. The second half