We were battling for first place with the LG Twins, and then we dropped. It looked like they were fighting for survival in the top five. But the mood has changed.
SSG won the 13th game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the NC Dinos 10-5 at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on April 4.
Although starter Kim Kwang-hyun gave up three runs in the sixth inning, the batting lineup provided the offense. Han Yoo-seom, who started in the No. 5 spot, exploded for 4-for-4 with six RBIs. Behind Han’s outburst and the run support, Kim Kwang-hyun earned his eighth win of the season with six innings, seven hits, five strikeouts, two walks and four runs (one earned).
It was his first win in nine games since Aug. 13 against Samsung Electronics.
SSG’s four-game win streak keeps them within one game of NC and Doosan Bears, who are tied for third place. They were in a “two-way tie” with LG in the first half of the season, but a poor second half saw them drop from third, fourth, and fifth to sixth place.
They are still being chased by the sixth-place KIA Tigers, but could climb back up to fourth or third.
Foreign pitcher Kirk McCarty is out for at least the regular season, and leadoff hitter Choi Jung-ho hasn’t played a game since October due to back pain.
The team is missing key players in the midst of a tight race, but Kim Kwang-hyun and Han Yoo-seom are keeping them from falling apart. The players who won the 2018 Korean Series and the 2022 integrated title are shining in the fall.
Through three innings, the starting pitchers of both teams kept the game scoreless. Kim Kwang-hyun struck out the first batter, Son As-seob, and Park Min-woo, and got Park Gun-woo to fly out to right field.
In the second inning, he gave up a single to Martin in right field. However, Kwon Hee-dong grounded out to the third baseman, and Martin, who was trying to steal second, was thrown out at third on a strong and accurate throw from first baseman Oh Tae-gon. Kim Kwang-hyun then got Oh Young-soo to ground out to the second baseman.
In the top of the fourth inning, with the score tied at 0-0, Kim gave up a double to right field to the first batter, Son Asub. Park Min-woo grounded out to the second baseman, but Son advanced to third. Park got Gun-woo to fly out to right field, but the tagged-up Son crossed home plate to make it 0-1.
Kim Kwang-hyun got through the inning without allowing another run, and Han Yoo-seom came through with the big hit in the bottom of the fourth.
Kim Kwang-hyun settled down after the fourth inning and pitched a three-hit shutout inning in the fifth. In the bottom of the fifth, Han Yusum hit a three-run home run.
Kim Kwang-hyun gave up another run in the sixth inning. We lost three runs. This was compounded by defensive errors. With the inning barely out of the bag, Han added an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh.
It was her most RBIs in a single game this season (six). The previous record was four, set last month on April 5 against Daejeon Hanwha. In that game, Han had four hits (one home run) and four RBIs.
His previous career high is seven RBI in a game. On May 8, 2019, he had a three-hit (two home runs), seven RBI game against Hanwha in Munhak.캡틴토토
In a tightly contested October and fall, the two veterans are stepping up. Han Yoo-seom continues his hot hitting streak with 14 hits in his last 10 games.