The SSG Landers took down the league’s top ace, Kia Tigers’ James Nail, in the midst of the departure of their best hitter. Keisho Shirakawa pitched well and Han Yoo-seom unleashed a resurgent home run barrage to secure a three-game midweek series sweep.
SSG won the ninth game of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League against KIA 7-1 at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Wednesday. The team avenged a 7-13 reverse loss on Dec. 12 and swept the three-game midweek series.
SSG got a solid performance from starting pitcher Keisho Shirakawa. Shirakawa effectively shut down the KIA lineup, allowing one run on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts in five innings.
Shirakawa threw 57 fastballs, more than half of his 91 total pitches. His fastball, which touched 148 mph, was heavily weighted toward curveballs (21), and he threw only six forkballs, which had been a staple of his game.
In his KBO debut, Shirakawa pitched five innings of three-hit ball with four walks and six strikeouts against the Gocheok Kiwoom Heroes on April 1, earning the win. However, he raised concerns when he gave up eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits, three walks and one strikeout in 1 1/3 innings against the Sasik Lotte Giants on July 7.
Shirakawa was fortunate to rebound quickly. He bailed SSG out from the brink of a losing streak with his second win of the season against the league-leading KIA bats.
The SSG bats were evenly matched with Park Ji-hwan going 1-for-1 with a run scored, a stolen base and a walk, Choi Ji-hoon going 3-for-4 with a home run, a home run, an RBI and a run scored, Park Sung-han going 2-for-4 with a home run, an RBI and a 스포츠토토 walk, Guillermo Heredia going 1-for-4 with an RBI, Han Yoo-seom going 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, and Jung Jun-jae going 1-for-2 with a run scored.
Park Sung-eun changed the course of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, when SSG was down 1-0, with runners on first and second and one out. Kia ace James Nail, who had been pitching well, then gave up an RBI single to Heredia and a three-run homer to Han Yoo-seom.
Han, who has been in a severe hitting slump lately, was thrilled to be able to hit against the best pitcher in the league. His 13th home run of the season came at a moment of significance for both the team and himself.
SSG overcame the loss of Choi Jung-jeong to stress otoliths earlier in the day with a solid two-hit performance. SSG maintained their fifth place position, 1.5 games ahead of the sixth-place NC Dinos, and traveled to Daejeon in good spirits for a three-game weekend series against the seventh-place Hanwha Eagles.
“With Choi Jeong-jeong missing today, it was expected to be a tough game, but the players pulled together as a team to achieve the victory,” said 파워볼게임 Lee. “The rookie duo of Jung Jun-jae and Park Ji-hwan were the lifeblood of the team’s offense. In particular, Jung Jun-jae’s surprise bunt in the fifth inning opened the floodgates for a lot of runs,” he said.
“Han Yoo-seom’s three-run home run was the key to our victory. I hope today’s game can be a turning point for the team, as they have been struggling lately.”
Lee also gave a lot of importance to the performance of starting pitcher Shirakawa. He praised Shirakawa for bouncing back from his previous outing and throwing his pitches well.
“Shirakawa pitched better than I expected,” Lee said. I think the bad performance in the last game was a good medicine and he prepared well,” said Lee. “He was not nervous and showed his strengths. Cho Byung-hyun and Choi Min-joon also pitched well,” he added.