A solo 5th place is now impossible. It’s a must-win situation. They have one game left to win.
The top five teams have been finalized: the KIA Tigers in first place, the Samsung Lions in second, the LG Twins in third, and the Doosan Bears in fourth. And the battle for the fifth and final spot is far from over between KT Wiz and SSG Landers.
KT has already completed all 144 games of the regular season. With three consecutive wins in their final three games, KT achieved their goal and remained in fifth place with 72 wins, 2 draws, and 70 losses. They secured at least a playoff spot with a 10-7 victory over Kiwoom Heroes in the season finale on Nov. 28.
SSG now has one final game left. SSG’s recent three-game winning streak has given them the minimum requirement for fifth place, which will be decided by a win or loss against Kiwoom in Incheon on the 30th. If SSG loses to Kiwoom, they will be eliminated from the top five immediately, while a win over Kiwoom will put them in a tie for fifth place with KT. That would set up a ranking match. Kiwoom has inadvertently become the casting boat that holds the fate of the top five teams.
For SSG, their chances of making it to the best-of-five on their own are now gone.
KT must win all of their remaining games to reach the deciding match.
This naturally puts a lot of pressure on Drew Anderson, who will start against Kiwoom. As expected, Kiwoom’s ‘ace’ Enmanuel de Heysus will not be available against SSG. 카지노사이트 Initially, Kiwoom head coach Hong Won-ki had said that he would be the starter against SSG. He was battling with Kyle Hart (NC) for the individual title in strikeouts.
However, with Heisu’s final game appearance canceled, Kiwoom will likely use a backup starter. Of course, there’s no guarantee of a win with a different starter, but it does take some of the pressure off.
In his most recent outing, Anderson was tagged for six runs (five earned) in two innings against the LG Twins on April 24. He was pitching on four days’ rest for the second straight start, but he was clearly tired. SSG was desperate to take the game against LG, but defensive mistakes and Anderson’s big inning turned the game into a toss-up. They will have to overcome the aftermath in their final match against Kiwoom.
With a record of 8-2 in their last 10 matches, SSG are looking to pull off a last-minute miracle to qualify for the best-of-five, and the batsmen have a huge task on their hands to overcome the pressure and score early. There is a subtle sense of nervousness that the team cannot afford to lose the fifth spot after coming this far.