SSG Landers escaped a three-game losing streak with a stout defense. Choi Ji-hoon’s super catch led to the win.
SSG earned a 4-1 victory over the Lotte Giants in the regular season of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Sajik Stadium in Busan on Thursday. With the win, SSG escaped a three-game losing streak and improved to 51 wins, 38 losses, and one draw. They cut the deficit to 4.5 games over the leaders, the LG Twins, who had their seven-game winning streak snapped.
It was a hard-fought game, but they prevailed in the end. Starter Jong-hoon Park went 4⅔ innings, allowing one run on four hits and three walks and throwing 121 pitches. He got into trouble with four pitches in each inning, but was pulled in the fifth with the bases loaded.
Despite leading 4-1, this was the biggest game of the night. The bench quickly brought in Noh Kyung-eun. With the bases loaded and Yoon Dong-hee at bat, the game didn’t end easily. The game went to nine pitches. The ninth pitch of the at-bat was hit to right-center field. Right fielder Ha Jae-hoon and center fielder Choi Ji-hoon couldn’t catch it easily. However, Choi Ji-hoon flew out and caught the ball. He was in danger of colliding with Ha, but he didn’t let it bother him and threw the ball away.
Since it was a full count, all the runners were automatically on base, so if the ball had been dropped, all the runners would have reached home, but Choi’s “beast defense” saved the day. It was a defense that had everyone cheering.
After that, the pitching staff overcame numerous crises, and the game was decided in the ninth inning when Seo Jin-yong hit a single with the bases loaded.
After the game, Kim Won-hyung said, “In a tough situation where we were on a losing streak, we were able to come out with a win by scoring early in the game, and the bullpen, starting with Jong-hoon Park, did a great job of keeping us scoreless after the fifth inning, so we were able to break the losing streak. It’s a great defense, and I want to praise him,” he said, giving Choi a thumbs-up for his defense.
Choi was determined. “As soon as I saw the pitch, I knew I could catch it because it flew to where I expected it to go,” he said. “I’m glad I was able to 카지노 help the team in a crunch time, and I’m glad they told me that I made three great defensive plays.” He laughed.
Choi also had a valuable at-bat on the day. In the top of the third inning, with runners on first and third, he lined a single up the middle for a 1-0 lead. He went 1-for-4 with one RBI. For the year, Choi is batting .315 (80-for-315) with two home runs, 24 RBIs, 45 runs scored and a .649 OPS. The momentum of his dominance at the plate has slowed. You could call it a slump season.
However, Choi proved once again that there is no such thing as a slump in defense.