SSG Landers made the most of the All-Star break and rain delay. They are back in the lead with a full squad.
SSG had a series of late-game departures in the first half. Kirk McCarty, who has been the ace with a 7-3 record and a 2.52 ERA, has been sidelined for over a month with left elbow discomfort. His last appearance was on June 22 against the Doosan Bears.
Choi missed the remainder of the first half of the season, ending on June 5 against the KIA Tigers, with a thigh muscle injury. Guillermo Heredia traveled to the United States on June 10 for a naturalization interview. This means that the league’s top home run and RBI hitter (Choi), top batting average (Heredia), and top wins leader (McCarty) are all gone at once.카지노
After losing the lead to LG in late June, SSG faltered in July. They finished the first half in second place, 2.5 games behind LG.
For SSG, the week-long All-Star break was bittersweet. It gave their main players time to recover, and they also had six rainouts in July to minimize the number of injured players. Four games were postponed from July 1-13, and there were already two rainouts later in the month. These games will be rescheduled in September.
Meanwhile, the main players returned one by one. Choi came back from injury to bat No. 3 against the Jamsil LG in Seoul on April 21, going 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs, and a walk. SSG won 6-4, closing the gap on LG to 1.5 games. Choi, who is playing as a designated hitter, is expected to gradually work on his third base defense this week.
McCarty will take the mound for the first time in about a month on April 26 against the Daegu Samsung Lions. His scheduled start in the Futures (second team) league has been postponed due to rain, and he is expected to throw no more than 50 pitches that day.
Heredia joined the 23rd team after returning home behind schedule. The team only played two games during his three-month absence. SSG head coach Kim Won-hyung announced, “We will send Heredia to the game as early as Tuesday (25th).” Heredia said, “I can play anytime. Heredia was motivated, saying, “I can play anytime.”
Ha Jae-hoon, who was sidelined with a fractured left thumb in mid-June, also returned. He started in the sixth spot in left field on the 21st and went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored, and two RBIs. With the addition of Ha and Jae-hoon, SSG’s batting lineup is almost complete.
However, there is still one spot open in the starting rotation. Jong-hoon Park has struggled this season, going 1-6 with a 6.31 ERA. The team also awaits the return of closer Choi Min-jun, who is 4-2 with a 3.09 ERA in 29 games this year with one save and six holds.
“We have some players coming back from injury (in the second half), and we’ll try to prepare well so that we can show a good performance,” Kim said.