SSG Landers, once in contention for the top spot, will be put to the test.
메이저놀이터 SSG begins a three-game midweek series against the NC Dinos of the 2023 KBO League at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 22nd.
SSG went through an unbelievable slump in the second half of the season and into August.
After dropping their first three-game series against KT in August, SSG came up empty, scoring just one run in three games, and then seemed to rebound with wins against Lotte (2-1), NC (1-1), and Samsung (2-1), but they lost all three games against Lotte again and fell into a slump against LG Electronics in a losing series (1-2).
In the meantime, LG, who were in contention for the top spot, have run away with it and have been overtaken in second place by a scary KT.
SSG is now at a crossroads between a return to the top and a fall to the mid-table.
They’re still within one game of second-placed KT, but given their recent form, they’re more concerned about catching up to fourth-placed NC, who are three games back.
SSG ace Kim Kwang-hyun. SSG Landers
And then there’s NC.
This season, SSG has struggled against NC with a 3-7 record. This is the lowest winning percentage among the nine teams. If SSG drops all three games against NC, the standings will be reversed.
Once they get over the hump against NC, their next opponent is Doosan. Doosan climbed up the standings last month with a franchise-best 11-game winning streak, but have since fallen into a deceptive slump that has left their fifth-place spot in doubt.
With three wins and seven defeats in their last 10 games, Doosan remain precariously in fifth place, with sixth-placed KIA down to zero points and seventh-placed Lotte 1.5 games adrift.
SSG travel to mid-table NC and Doosan this week to find out where they will finish in the regular season.
If they go on a losing streak, they’ll immediately drop down the standings and into the mid-table race. On the other hand, if the bats come alive and the mound recovers from the crisis, they could reignite their charge to the top of the standings.