It seems that the fight against the five strongest teams in professional baseball, where the all-time competition was held, is about to end suddenly. As Hanwha and Lotte, which were in a chase for the five strongest teams with a scary momentum, stagnate together, the fight for the five strongest teams is likely to cool down.
Until last Friday, the KBO League had become a top-five competition in history. As the fourth-ranked Doosan Bears and the ninth-ranked NC Dinosaurs were separated by a mere 3.5 games, up to six teams were competing for the fourth- and fifth-ranked teams. Notably, sixth-ranked Hanwha gained momentum by trailing fifth-ranked KT by one game.
However, the mood for the best five teams in four days has subsided. As of Tuesday, the gap between fifth-ranked KT and sixth-ranked SSG and Hanwha is 2.5 games. As eighth-ranked Lotte has lost four games to KT, the fall baseball season is now in a state of despair.
Lotte’s upward trajectory was completely halted by posting one win, four losses and one draw in six games last week. In six games, Lotte lost its defense line due to 10 errors and suffered self-destruction. It is painful to lose both games that ace Charlie Barnes played amid instability in defense. When Park Se-woong pitched seven ⅓ innings without losing any points, it was regrettable that the match against Sajik SSG ended in a 1-1 draw in the 12th inning due to Kim Won-joong’s blon save, the closing pitcher of the ninth inning.
Lotte has the most remaining 17 games in the remaining season, but it is practically difficult to reverse the gap between the four games. As pitching staff is losing power, chances are high that the remaining games will be a negative factor rather than an opportunity. We should rely on the explosive power of the batting lineup, which is centered on young fielders.
Until the 4th, Hanwha pressured fifth-ranked KT by one game, increasing its momentum to chase the semifinals, but has slowed down to one win and three losses in four games since then. It fell one place to seventh without a ride against sixth-ranked SSG. It is regrettable that they lost two consecutive games against LG in Jamsil on the 7th and 8th. Although they played bullpen days in two consecutive games, they failed to overcome LG’s firepower and suffered 3-9 and 3-14 defeats, respectively.
Moon Dong-ju, who was in his turn to start the game against LG on Tuesday, was delayed due to shoulder fatigue. Moon rebounded with four wins and one loss with an ERA of 2.60 in eight games (45 innings) in the second half. Since the Hanwha Eagles have been playing since the summer based on the strength of the mound, if Moon’s absence gets longer, he will lose momentum to pursue the top five teams.
There are only 16 games left for the Hanwha Eagles. A gap of 2.5 games is not a long time for them to catch up, but they are showing signs of increasing intensity. Now that the teams of Doosan and KT, which are ranking fourth and fifth, are all set to face off each other, they have no chance to narrow their gap. They have to win as many games as possible in the remaining 16 games and wait for the results of Doosan and KT.
In that sense, SSG still has a chance. Having fallen to eighth place, SSG has two wins and one draw in its last three games to move up to sixth, and it has two more showdowns with KT and Doosan. If it wins and losses here, chances may come. However, as SSG’s pitching capability has run out, it seems practically difficult to turn around 2.5 games. 안전놀이터
With Doosan and KT ranking fourth and fifth gaining the upper hand, the team’s schedule early this week will be the key. Doosan has three games to play this week, and KT has four games to spare, which gives it a good chance to advance to the round of five teams. The two teams will have their last showdown of the season at Jamsil on Tuesday. Chances are high that it will be a showdown between the four teams for fourth place.
In contrast, Hanwha and Lotte are scheduled to hold six games side by side this week as well. Hanwha has to move to Incheon → Daejeon → Busan, while Lotte has to move to Seoul → Incheon → Gwangju → Busan, which makes the schedule all the more burdensome. The two teams are scheduled to hold three consecutive games in Sajik over the weekend. There are a total of five matches left until the two consecutive games in Daejeon from May 21 to May 22.
SSG has five matches scheduled this week at its home site in Munhak. It has no burden to travel, but has no leeway as it has to play five matches. It is worrisome right now that the match against Hanwha in Munhak will take place on October 10. SSG, which is in absolute inferiority to Hanwha with four wins and 10 losses this year, lost to Hanwha in all eight games at its home site alone. Only when it dispels its weakness in the match against Hanwha, it can it continue its hope to advance to the fifth round.