KBO-teams
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| ▲ Members of the SSG Landers celebrate their 3-2 victory over the Kia Tigers in a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul, on July 31, 2022. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Na Sung-bum of the Kia Tigers hits an RBI single against the SSG Landers during the bottom of the seventh inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul, on July 31, 2022. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Kim Hyeon-joon of the Samsung Lions hits a walkoff single against the Lotte Giants during the bottom of the 10th inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, 290 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on July 29, 2022. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Park Byung-ho of the KT Wiz celebrates after hitting a walkoff, two-run home run against the Kiwoom Heroes during the bottom of the ninth inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, 35 kilometers south of Seoul, on July 27, 2022. (Yonhap) |
KBO-teams
Landers looking to take stranglehold on KBO pennant race
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) -- At this rate, the SSG Landers will soon be battling South Korean baseball history, not any of their overmatched opponents.
Through Sunday's action in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the Landers hold a comfortable seven-game lead over the Kiwoom Heroes atop the standings. These two clubs will square off for three games, starting Tuesday, at the Heroes' home, Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
With the Landers fresh off a dominant month of July, in which they posted the league-best record of 16-3, a three-game sweep isn't going to surprise anyone.
They have been in first place since the first day of this season, 94 games and counting. They already own the record for the longest stay at the top from the start of a season. And with 50 games left and a record of 63-28-3 (wins-losses-ties), the Landers are trying to become the first club ever to go wire-to-wire to win the KBO pennant.
Based on their current winning percentage of .692, the Landers are on pace to win 98 games. That would also be a record in a 144-game schedule, which came into place in 2015. The 2016 and the 2018 Doosan Bears hold the record with 93 wins.
Though their starting rotation didn't need any help, the Landers welcomed back submarine pitcher Park Jong-hun on Sunday, about a year after his right elbow surgery. Park pitched three scoreless innings against the Kia Tigers, and once the All-Star pitcher ramps back up to a fuller workload, the already-impressive rotation will become even more formidable.
Kim Kwang-hyun (1.67) and Wilmer Font (2.07), ranked first and second in the KBO in ERA, provide the league's best one-two punch. The newly signed Shawn Morimando threw six shutout frames in his KBO debut last Wednesday, when he gave up just two hits and struck out six against the LG Twins.
The rotation is so deep that two pitchers who laid strong foundation for the stout rotation earlier in the season, Noh Kyung-eun and Oh Won-seok, have been pushed to the bullpen.
And the relief role has suited Noh just fine. The veteran right-hander has thrown six scoreless innings in four relief outings since July 22, lowering his ERA from 3.38 to 2.93 in the process. Oh picked up a relief win after three innings of work on Sunday.
The Heroes, after losing three straight games last week before taking a tie against the NC Dinos on Saturday, will be in for a crucial week. After hosting the Landers, the Heroes will visit the Twins for three games. The Twins are breathing down the Heroes' neck, sitting just one game back in third place with a winnable series against the Lotte Giants scheduled from Tuesday to Thursday.
Elsewhere this week, the last-place Hanwha Eagles will host the Tigers for three games, beginning Tuesday. The Eagles have lost all nine games against the Tigers so far this season. Every other team in the KBO this season has at least one victory against all opponents.
Though the Eagles have won only three out of eight games since the All-Star break, their pitchers have the KBO's lowest ERA (3.48) and most strikeouts (71) over that stretch. On offense, the Eagles are third with a .290 batting average and second with 10 home runs in the second half.
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