Blog

Sep 02 2024

Prelude to NC's 3rd consecutive fightback

The NC Dinosaurs defeated the SSG Landers 8-2 in the 14th game of this season held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Sunday. With the victory, NC, which has won three consecutive games recently, narrowed its gap with the fifth-ranked KT Wiz to 4.5 games. On the other hand, SSG, which recently lost two consecutive games, lost its sixth place to Hanwha, which had no match on the day.

▶NC starting lineup = Park Min-woo (2nd baseman), Seo Ho-cheol (designated hitter), Davidson (1st baseman), Kwon Hee-dong (left fielder), Kim Hwi-jip (third baseman), Kim Sung-wook (center fielder), Park Se-hyuk (capture), Chun Jae-hwan (right fielder), Kim Joo-won (striker) starting pitcher Yokishi

▶SSG starting lineup = Park Ji-hwan (2nd baseman) - Kim Sung-hyun (2nd baseman) - Choi Jung (3rd baseman) - Eredia (left fielder) - Ha Jae-hoon (center fielder) - Han Yu-sum (right fielder) - Ko Myung-joon (designated hitter) - Lee Ji-young (captor) - Oh Tae-gon (1st baseman) starter Elias

SSG succeeded in picking the first run, although the main third baseman and key batter Choi Jung complained of sudden back pain ahead of his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning.

In the bottom of the first inning, leadoff hitter Park Ji-hwan got on base with a pitch ball, and Kim Sung-hyun's sacrifice bunt put him on second base with one out. After the second out, fourth batter Guillermo Herredia hit a timely hit to fall in front of the right field, and Park Ji-hwan came home. SSG led 1-0.

However, a tight race between pitchers developed afterwards. NC hardly hit Elias, and SSG also failed to score extra points.

In the bottom of the third inning, SSG leadoff hitter Oh Tae-gon succeeded in stealing second base after walking on base, but all the top hitters leading to Park Ji-hwan, Kim Sung-hyun and Ahn Sang-hyun were hit.

NC also had a chance to get on base with a walk in the top of the fourth inning, but no timely hit occurred, and SSG also had two runners on base with a walk in the bottom of the fourth inning, but it did not lead to a score.

The NC Dinosaurs woke up with a home run in the top of the sixth inning. With no runners on two outs, Matt Davidson hit Elias' 152 km fastball to hit a solo home run over the fence. It was Davidson's home run in two consecutive games and his 39th for this season. He also recorded 30 home runs and 100 RBIs overall.

NC, which tied the game 1-1 with Davidson's homer, came from behind to turn the tables. Kwon Hee-dong hit consecutive homeruns as batter. Kwon hit Elias' fourth pitch, 150-km fastball, to hit the homer over the left fence. NC succeeded in come from behind 2-1 with two homeruns.

SSG missed another chance to score in the bottom of the seventh inning. After leadoff hitter Ko Myung-joon had a hit, pinch runner Choi Sang-min succeeded in hiding the second base. However, Oh Tae-gon struck out swinging, and the opponent team made a mistake at Park Ji-hwan's at-bat, creating a chance for the second and third bases with two outs. However, Kim's hit was caught as a straight hit by the third baseman, which did not lead to a run.

NC broke down the SSG bullpen in the top of the eighth inning, giving a boost to the winning atmosphere. Park Min-woo and Seo Ho-chul got on base with consecutive walks against Moon Seung-won. Davison's hit was caught with a straight hit by shortstop on the first and second bases with no outs, but Kwon Hee-dong made a timely hit with an infield hit to the second base. Second baseman Park Min-woo homered.

With one out and runners on first and third bases, this time, Kim Hwi-jip's timely hit hit made third baseman Seo Ho-cheol homered, and Kim Sung-wook's single hit created a one-out full base opportunity.

Kim Hyung-joon was caught on a fly to right field, but another timely hit came after two outs. Chun Jae-hwan had a left-handed hit against the changed pitcher Lee Rowoon. At this time, two runners on the second and third bases scored, and NC ran away by 6-1, 5 points.

SSG also had a chance to hit first and second bases with no outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. The last chance to fight back. Ryu Jin-wook allowed consecutive walks, shaking his head. However, following Ha Jae-hoon's in-field flyout, Han Yu-seom also bowed his head to a foul fly, and pinch hitter Choi Jun-woo was caught to an outfield flyout, which ended the chance in vain.

In the top of the ninth inning, he hit a wedge-shaped hit. With one out and runners on the first and second bases made by consecutive hits by Seo Ho-cheol and Davidson, Kim Hui-jip effectively sealed the victory with a two-run double that brought in both runners.

For SSG, Jung Joon-jae's one-run timely hit with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning was the only comforting factor.