SSG Landers, the third-place team that took four days off, was hit by the “Aceless” NC Dinos and flocked to the corner.

SSG lost 3-4 to NC in the first round of the postseason semi-playoff of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Incheon SSG Landers Field located in Michuhol-gu, Incheon on the 22nd.

It wasn’t just a defeat. In any series, the first game to determine the atmosphere is important, but in the KBO League semi-playoff, the winning team of Game 1 advanced to the playoffs with a probability of 87.5% (28 out of 32). In terms of probability, SSG is given 12.5%.

The mental burden of losing an advantageous game cannot be ignored. When the first round selection was announced on the 21st, SSG’s advantage was expected. This is because NC ace Eric Peddy failed to recover from an injury hit by a pitch against the Gwangju KIA Tigers on the 16th. Instead, Shin Min-hyuk, who started as a starter, recorded a 3.98 ERA in 29 regular-season games, 97 strikeouts in 122 innings, and a 6.57 ERA in four games against SSG, which significantly lowered his weight.

However, despite many crises, Shin Min-hyuk set the stage for victory by recording four hits, one walk, and three strikeouts in five ⅔ innings and gave NC a mental advantage. This is not the only disadvantage for SSG. With Peddy’s comeback imminent, SSG needed to make sure to catch the second leg.

After winning the first game, NC coach Kang In-kwon said, “Song Myung-ki is the starter for the second game. Peddy threw 19 bullpen pitches today (22nd) and is currently recovering about 90 percent. But I think the second round will be difficult because I said I still have anxiety. “I will decide on the date of Peddy’s appearance by looking at his recovery,” he said.

In a desperate crisis, SSG predicted Kim Kwang-hyun as the starting pitcher for the second game. It’s the best card at this point. Kim Kwang-hyun recorded 9 wins and 8 losses in 30 regular-season games (168 ⅓ innings) with an ERA of 3.53 and 1 win and 1 loss in 3 games (16 ⅓ innings) against NC with an ERA of 3.31. Since September, he has played a major role in SSG’s third place, gaining momentum with two wins and two losses and a 2.62 ERA in eight games (44 ⅔ innings).

Kim Kwang-hyun’s last concern, which starts with two disadvantages, a 12.5% probability and a return pedi, is the existence of Kim Sung-wook (30), a “survived natural enemy.” Kim Sung-wook, who made his debut in the first division in 2013, took the lead in earnest from 2015 and showed a strong performance against Kim Kwang-hyun with a batting average of 0.385 (10 hits in 26 at-bats). He also had three doubles out of 10 hits, and three RBIs. He then came out as a pinch hitter in the top of the eighth inning in the first round and connected Roenis Elias’ first pitch with a two-run shot to give NC the victory.

“I was preparing to go out at any time, and hitting with the thought that I could hit unconditionally led to a good result,” Kim Sung-wook said. “Kim Kwang-hyun is a great pitcher who I only watched on TV when I was young, so I felt it would be fun to face him.” However, as I kept hitting, I think I got a hit and gained confidence,” he said, explaining why he was strong against Kim Kwang-hyun.

Kim Kwang-hyun needs a strikeout as he faces a triple high. NC shook the opponent’s infield using its fast feet from the wild card game against the Doosan Bears. In the wild card game, he made six runs and big innings with three stolen bases, and in the first game against SSG, Jason Martin and Park Min-woo stole valuable additional points.

Kim Kwang-hyun was one of the starting pitchers who tried to steal a lot of bases this year (9.1%, 5th in the league), and he was not very strong in checking runners with a 54.2% allowance for stolen bases. As such, NC’s on-base should be suppressed, and the best way is to strike out. Game 1 starter Elias also threw more breaking balls than usual at a fast tempo, taking away the timing of NC batters, resulting in four hits (one homer) in eight innings, striking out six, and allowing two runs. As Kim Kwang-hyun is increasingly good at using and utilizing breaking balls, performances like Elias are possible. 스포츠토토

If he adds seven strikeouts in the game, Kim Kwang-hyun will make history in the KBO League. Kim Kwang-hyun, who has four wins, three losses and three saves in 22 postseason games, a 3.35 ERA, and 97 strikeouts in 91 ⅓ innings, has only six left to top the all-time strikeout list. Currently, Sun Dong-yeol (Haetae) has 103 strikeouts (3 quasi-POs, 21 POs, 79 Korean Series), which is only 6 behind Kim Kwang-hyun (four wild cards, 43 playoffs, 50 Korean Series).