Doosan-NC suffers heartbreaking defeat despite ‘putting in aces’…only 3rd war SSG laughs

The battle for third place in the Korean Baseball Organization will finally be decided on the final day of the regular season.

SSG defeated Doosan 3-2 on the road in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Saturday. Starter Roenis Elias pitched seven innings of one-run ball and Han Yoo-seom had two RBIs.

With the win, SSG moved up to third place (75 wins, 65 losses, and 3 ties). NC (75 wins, 66 losses and two ties), which lost 2-4 against KIA and Gwangju on the same day, dropped to fourth place by 0.5 games.

Doosan, on the other hand, lost despite losing ace Raul Alcantara to clinch fifth place (74 wins, two draws, 67 losses). Doosan will not finish fourth even if it wins against SSG and Incheon on Nov. 17 and NC loses against KIA to tie for fourth. They have the same head-to-head record (8 wins, 8 losses) but are behind in goal difference (64 to 66), the next criteria for ranking.

SSG can still qualify for the semi-finals in third place if they beat Dusan in their final game at home on the 17th. However, if SSG loses and NC beats KIA, the standings will change. The teams are tied in wins and losses and head-to-head record (8-8), but NC is ahead of SSG in runs scored.안전놀이터

It was painful for NC to lose the game on the 16th, even though the best pitcher of the year, Eric Peddie, started the game. Pedi, who had virtually clinched the pitching crown in wins (20), ERA (2.00) and strikeouts (209), was hit in the right arm by a hard hit by Kia’s Ko Jong-wook in the bottom of the sixth inning. He had pitched 5⅔ innings of three-hit ball, striking out five. Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Ko Jong-wook hit a game-winning two-run double to right-center field with runners on first and third.

KIA responded with Kim Sun-bin’s RBI single to right-center and Lee Woo-sung’s RBI double to right-center to make it 4-2. In the top of the ninth, Jung Hae-young closed out the game.

Lotte won 7-2 against Hanwha and Daejeon. They finished the season in seventh place. Hanwha finished the regular season in ninth place.