The SSG Landers of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) swept the final game of the regular season with a fifth-place playoff berth on the line, hitting two home runs by Choi Jeong-jeong.
SSG won the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League home game against the Kiwoom Heroes 7-2 on Tuesday at SSG Landers Field in Incheon.
With the win, SSG finished the 2024 regular season with 72 wins, 70 losses and two ties for a winning percentage of 0.507, tied for fifth place with KT Wiz.
SSG and kt will play a single-elimination tiebreaker game for fifth place at KT WIZ Park in Suwon on the 1st.
The winner of that game will play the fourth-place Doosan Bears at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the second day for the wild card.
It will be the third time the KBO has held a tiebreaker and the first time a fifth-place game has been decided.
SSG won the final four games of the regular season to dramatically catch KT.
Kiwoom, which clinched last place early, ended the 2024 season with five straight losses.
SSG took the lead in the third inning after struggling against Kiwoom’s replacement starter Yoon Seok-won.
Jung Jun-jae led off with a walk, and Choi launched a two-run shot to left off reliever Kim Sun-ki.
Choi exploded for another home run in the fourth inning.
SSG put runners on first and second with an infield single by leadoff hitter Lee Ji-young and a walk by Go Myung-joon before Park Sung-han made it 3-0 with a single to right.
Jung Jun-jae’s grounder to second baseman Kim Hye-sung was misplayed to load the bases, and the next batter, Choi Jung-jeong, hit a grand slam over the right field wall.
With the score at 7-0, SSG gave up a run in the top of the sixth inning when starter Drew Anderson was pulled.
The new pitcher gave up a triple to right-center to Park Soo-jong and a sacrifice fly to Kim Tae-jin to make it 7-1.
That was it. SSG allowed one run in the ninth inning, but it didn’t affect the outcome of the game.
Choo Shin-soo, who is retiring after this season, pinch-hit for Ha Jae-hoon in the bottom of the eighth inning and hit a grounder to second base to say goodbye to the field he had grown to love.
SSG players came to the front of the dugout to high-five him, and SSG manager Lee Sung-yong gave him a bouquet of flowers.
Choi put on a one-man show, going 3-for-4 with two home runs, six RBIs and two runs scored.
With 15 career extra-base hits, Choi is now second on the KBO’s all-time list for most career extra-base hits.
In first place is current Kia Tigers manager Lee Beom-ho with 17, and in third place is Samsung Lions’ Kang Min-ho with 14.
At Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, the Tigers clinched the regular-season title with a 10-5 victory over the NC Dinos to start the Korean Series on a high note.
Kia finished the regular season with 87 wins, 55 losses, two draws, and a .613 winning percentage.
Ninth-place NC will close out the season with its final game against the Lotte Giants at Changwon NC Park on April 1.
Infielder Kim Do-young, who has grown into Kia’s signature hitter with his best performance this season, fell short of becoming the first Korean player to record 40 home runs and 40 doubles.
Kim, who had 38 home runs and 40 doubles the day before, had to settle for 1-for-4 with one home run, one RBI, one run scored, and one walk.
Kia gave up an RBI double to Doh Tae-hoon in the first inning off starter Eric Lauer with the bases loaded, but the offense responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning.
Back-to-back singles by Lee Woo-sung and Ko Jong-wook put runners on first and third with one out, and Kim Ho-ryung’s infield grounder brought home Lee Woo-sung, before Kim Tae-gun, Park Jung-woo, Kim Do-young, Yoon Do-hyun, and Park Chan-ho hit consecutive singles to put the game out of reach.
After conceding a run in the sixth inning, KIA scored three more runs in the bottom of the inning, capitalizing on an error and three wild pitches. 토토사이트 순위