Roenis Elias (SSG Landers) has accomplished his mission.
If Kwang-hyun Kim and Drew Anderson, who have taken over the baton, pitch well, the path to the postseason could be open for SSG.
SSG moved up to fifth place with a 10-1 victory over the visiting NC Dinos of the KBO at Changwon NC Park on Saturday.
SSG and kt are tied for fifth place with two games remaining.
If the two teams have the same result in their remaining games, the KBO’s first-ever “fifth place deciding game” will be held.
KT will face the Kiwoom Heroes in Suwon on the 27th and 28th.
SSG will face Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon on the 28th and Kiwoom at home in Incheon on the 30th.
Already, the two teams are playing like a ‘shortened version’ of the game.
While the fifth-place finisher can open the fall stage with a wildcard berth, the sixth-place finisher will be eliminated.
For now, SSG is happy to be on the ‘same page’ as KT with their victory in the NC on the 26th.
Roenis Elias shined in the backline.
In the NC Game on the 26th, SSG won by a large margin, but only led 1-0 until the sixth inning.
A seven-inning, four-hit, no-run, 10-strikeout performance from the starter kept SSG in the game, but the offense broke through in the seventh and eighth innings to take the precious one-run win.
Elias was sidelined for more than 50 days from mid-May to early July due to a side injury.
His performance this season has been less than satisfactory, with a 7-7 record and 4.08 ERA in 22 games.
However, Elias made five appearances in September, going 3-1 with a 2.56 ERA, giving SSG a big boost.
Now, Kim Kwang-hyun and Anderson will prepare for their “fifth September start.
SSG played 17 games in September until the 26th, and Elias, Kwang-hyun Kim, and Anderson started 13 of them. Kwang-hyun Kim and Anderson will start the remaining two games.
Kim Kwang-hyun, the left-handed ace of Korean baseball, hasn’t exactly lived up to his reputation this year, going 11-10 with a 4.99 ERA in 30 games.
However, in September, when the fight for fifth place began in earnest, he pitched well, going 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA in four games.
In particular, he showed off his ace form with back-to-back no-hitters against the KIA Tigers on the 17th (5 innings, 4 hits, no runs) and KT on the 22nd (6 innings, 1 hit, no runs).
Kim Kwang-hyun is expected to start against Hanwha on the 28th.
Anderson, who has been pitching for SSG since May, is 10-3 with a 4.07 ERA this season.
He has played an important role in holding the center of gravity when the SSG starting rotation has faltered, but his four games in September have been up and down.
In two games, he pitched well with a quality start (6+ innings, 3 earned runs or less), while in the other two, he was pulled early.
If SSG’s position is not finalized by the 29th, Anderson will start against Kiwoom on the 30th.
If SSG wins the remaining two games, they can at least make the ‘fifth place clinching game’ their own. If KT slips, they can also clinch a spot in the wild card decider.
Kim Kwang-hyun and Anderson will prepare for their most important starts of the season. 메이저사이트