 |
| ▲ Jeon Ui-san of the SSG Landers celebrates his two-run double against the NC Dinos during the top of the eighth inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Changwon NC Park in Changwon, 380 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on June 9, 2022. (Yonhap) |
 |
| ▲ Lee Jung-hoo of the Kiwoom Heroes launches a grand slam against the Kia Tigers during the top of the sixth inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul, on June 12, 2022. (Yonhap) |
 |
| ▲ Socrates Brito of the Kia Tigers celebrates his solo home run against the LG Twins during the bottom of the fourth inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul, on June 9, 2022. (Yonhap) |
baseball-club
KBO-leading Landers nearing key win mark
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, June 14 (Yonhap) -- After weathering the storm last week, the SSG Landers are on the verge of beating everyone to a key win milestone for the season.
After collecting three wins last week, the Landers improved to 39-20-3 (wins-losses-ties) for the season, in first place by 3.5 games over the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) standings.
The Landers will most likely become the first team to reach the 40-win mark this season, as they go on a six-game road trip: three against the KT Wiz in Suwon, some 35 kilometers south of Seoul, and then three more against the Lotte Giants in Busan, 325 kilometers southeast of the capital.
The team that makes it to 40 wins first has won the regular season title about 63 percent of the time in KBO history. The past three pennant winners have all been clubs that reached that mark ahead of every other team.
So far this season, the Landers have gone 4-2 against the Wiz and 4-1-1 against the Giants.
The Landers got off to a scorching start and went 19-5-1 in April. They were still solid in May, going 15-10-1, but have been playing .500 ball so far in June, with a 5-5-1 record.
The offense that had been sputtering of late broke out in a big way during their three-game sweep of the Hanwha Eagles in the weekend series. They put up 26 runs on the board, led by an unlikely hero.
Infielder Jeon Ui-san was called up from the minors before last Wednesday's game and made his KBO debut the same day. The 21-year-old infielder has hit safely in all five games he has played so far.
Jeon has replaced struggling Kevin Cron at first base and in the middle of the lineup. And in the three-game series against the Eagles, Jeon batted 7-for-12 with a home run and five RBIs. Four of his nine career hits so far have gone for extra bases.
While the Landers will hit the road this week, the Heroes will enjoy a six-game homestand against their two Seoul rivals: the Doosan Bears from Tuesday to Thursday and the LG Twins on the weekend.
Their star outfielder Lee Jung-hoo, not known for power, belted three home runs and knocked in 10 runs last week. He ranked first in the league in both categories during that span.
After the Landers and the Heroes, the Twins and the Kia Tigers round out the top four, with the quartet looking to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the pack. They are also the only four teams with a winning record so far.
The Twins are 5.5 games out of first place. They have the Samsung Lions at home and the Heroes on the road this week.
The Tigers sit seven games behind the Landers. They visit the NC Dinos to start the new week and bring home the Lions for the weekend.
(END)
(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved
