SSG Landers took the weekend three-game series against Samsung to a sweep thanks to Kim Kwang-hyun’s heroics. SSG swept Samsung 4-0 in the 15th game of the season at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Wednesday.
Kim Kwang-hyun shut down the Samsung bats with seven scoreless innings, 바카라 his 10th quality start of the season. Choi’s leadoff single in the first inning proved to be the difference. Choo Shin-soo added a sacrifice fly in the fifth and an RBI single in the seventh to seal the deal.
With the win, SSG improved to 9-6 against Samsung Electronics, confirming Samsung’s dominance this season.
I thought about using Park Jong-hoon, but…
SSG started with a line-up of Choo Shin-soo (G), Choi Ji-hoon (R), Kim Kang-min (C), Choi Jung (3B), Park Sung-hyun (U), Kim Sung-hyun (2B), Han Yu-seom (L), Oh Tae-gon (1B), and Kim Min-sik (4B) to attack the wideman.
Samsung’s line-up was Kim Hyun-joon (C) Ryu Ji-hyuk (G) Koo Ja-uk (R) Pirela (L) Kang Min-ho (P) Kang Kang-ul (3B) Oh Jae-il (1B) Lee Jae-hyun (U) Kim Dong-jin (2B). Kang, who went 3-for-3, including a double against Kim Kwang-hyun, was batting fifth.
SSG manager Kim Won-hyung said before the game, “I was worried about Kim Kwang-hyun because he pitched twice in a week. I thought about putting (Park) Jong-hoon in and using him with Oh Won-seok McCarty,” he said. “If he’s okay, I’d like him to go about six innings. It will depend on his condition.” The bullpen had been severely depleted in the previous two games against Samsung. Kim Kwang-hyun’s long run was desperately needed.
As if reading his manager’s mind, Kim pitched well. He went beyond the sixth inning and into the seventh, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out three to preserve a 3-0 lead. He snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 7-4 on the season. Extended Samsung’s winning streak to seven games, dating back to 6 June 2018.
Samsung’s only blemish came in the second inning when Oh Jae-il was thrown out at home on a single to right field with two outs. Pirela’s two walk-off hits in the fourth and seventh innings were also disappointing.
The 2023 KBO League match between the Doosan Bears and SSG Landers took place at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 12th. SSG leadoff hitter Choo Shin-soo celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the first inning. Incheon=Choi Moon-young 기자deer@sportschosun.com /2023.07.12/
▶Aggressive wideman, strategy is to hit and run…
Taylor Widener has an overwhelmingly high strikeout rate. SSG Landers’ strategy was to attack aggressively.
They attacked Widener aggressively from the beginning.
In the bottom of the first inning, Choi Ji-hoon hit a triple down the right field line. However, he was caught in a perfect relay play between right fielder Koo Ja-uk, second baseman Kim Dong-jin and third baseman Kang Kang-ul, and was narrowly tagged out at third base.
The momentum could have been lost. In the second inning, Kim Kang-min revived the mood with a double down the right field line. Choi came home on a single to right, giving the team the lead and his 800th career run. The 46th and oldest in KBO history (40 years, 11 months). The previous record was 38 years, 3 months and 20 days set by Lee Ho-jun during his active career.
SSG made it 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning after back-to-back singles by Kim Sung-hyun and Han Yoo-seom put runners on first and third with no outs.
SSG made it 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth when Oh Tae-gon led off with a single to right, moved to second on a stolen base and third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on Choo Shin-soo’s sacrifice fly to deep centre field.
Photo courtesy of Samsung Lions
▶Agressive wideman, slide step still a weakness
Taylor Widener’s first start since joining the Samsung Lions brought both promise and challenges.
In 6⅔ innings of work, he gave up four runs on 10 hits with one walk and two strikeouts.
Offensively, the pitching was positive. A whopping 63 of his 82 pitches were strikes. He threw a mix of four-seamers, two-seamers, sliders and changeups that topped out at 151 mph.
But he also exposed a weakness in his slide step.
Trailing 0-2 in the fifth inning, he gave up a leadoff single to Oh Tae-gon and then a stolen base on a wild pitch. A sacrifice bunt and Shin-Soo Choo’s sacrifice fly gave up three runs. Down 0-3 in the eighth, the stolen base was again the key. One out later, Oh Tae-gon led off with a single and stole second base again. Two batters later, Choo Shin-soo singled to make it 0-4. It was an unnecessary risk of scoring more runs.