The eighth-inning home run was the game-winning goal against NC Steamer.

Tied 0-0 in the top of the eighth inning, NC attacks. Ho-Cheol Seo (27) reached on a fielder’s choice to shortstop, bases loaded, no outs. First out, first base. NC manager Kang Myung-ho brought in “founding member” Kim Sung-wook (30) as a pinch hitter. SSG starting pitcher Roenis Elias (35) had given up three hits and no runs. He was pitching a perfect game. The 11-year veteran is now 7-for-7 in the semifinals in his career. He was also 1-for-13 as a pinch-hitter this season. However, Kim Sung-wook has been strong against SSG this season and at Landers Field (where the game was played). His batting average against SSG (.375) and at Literature Park (.444) was well above his overall season average (.223). The bold move paid off, 카지노사이트넷 as he pulled an Elias changeup over the left field fence. He sacrificed the “harness” that had such a sharp angle on this day. His third home run of the postseason. It was a big one for him, who returned to the mound this year after spending the last two years on the disabled list. This year, he’s been unusually strong with the fastball (.438), and that strength has paid off in big moments.

In the best-of-five semi-finals of the 2023 KBO semi-playoffs, the NC Dinos, the fourth-place team in the regular season, took a one-game lead over the third-place SSG Landers. NC won Game 1 4-3 on April 22 at SSG Landers Field in Incheon, South Korea, thanks to a game-winning two-run homer by pinch-hitter Kim Sung-wook in the eighth inning and RBI singles by Jason Martin (28) and Seo Ho-cheol in the ninth. In the last nine semifinals, the team that won Game 1 has advanced to the next stage (playoffs) without exception. Song Myung-ki (NC) and Kim Kwang-hyun (SSG) were announced as the starting pitchers for Game 2, which will be played at 6:30 p.m. on March 23 at the same venue.

Game MVP Kim Sung-wook “Let’s play unconditionally”

Kim Sung-wook, who was named the game’s MVP, said, “I was always preparing to pinch-hit. I swung the bat boldly from the first pitch with the idea of hitting anything that came into the strike zone, and it was a hit.” Kim Sung-wook is a founding member of the organization, having joined in 2012. He hit double-digit home runs in 2016 and 2018. This year, he has played more as a pinch-hitter and defender than a starter.

A key play on the basepaths

The game changed once more in the ninth inning. With NC trailing by one run in the bottom of the eighth and narrowly leading 2-1, Park Min-woo (30), another “founding member,” singled to right field. After moving to second on a sacrifice bunt, he boldly stole third base with one out. The opposing pitcher, Noh Kyung-eun (39), took advantage of the fact that his main weapon was a forkball with a large drop, making it difficult for the catcher to catch the stealing runner. Martin then calmly hit the forkball with no effort and hit it between the first and second basemen of the SSG, who were playing forward defense. 3-1. Again, Martin was caught stealing second. Runners on first and second. Seo followed with an RBI single to right to make it 4-1. It was a moment reminiscent of the eighth inning in the last wild card game, when the team scored six runs to win the game after shaking off opposing pitcher Hong Gun-hee with three stolen bases.

Shin Min-hyuk pitches well, Lee Yong-chan falters again

When Lee Yong-chan (34) took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning, there was some tension. After the disappointment of giving up three runs in the ninth inning of the last wild card game, he seemed to relive his nightmare this time, giving up a single to Han Yoo-seom (34) in the first inning and a two-run homer to Ha Jae-hoon (33) in the next inning. The score was now 4-3. There was talk of a pitching change, but NC pushed on. Lee Yong-chan seemed to wake up and retired the next three batters to preserve the win.

NC starter Shin Min-hyuk (24) hadn’t pitched well against SSG this season, with a 6.57 ERA this year, but manager Kang Myung-ho trusted his instincts over data, saying, “He’s in good shape right now.” “I wasn’t particularly nervous,” he said, “and I think my aggressive pitching led to a good outcome.” Shin pitched five and two-thirds scoreless innings to set the stage for the win. “He’s about 90 percent recovered and is pitching out of the bullpen, but he said he still has some anxiety, so we’ll see how he’s doing and set a schedule for him,” Kang said of the three-time pitcher of the year.

◇SSG failed to capitalize on their chances

SSG silenced the NC bats until the seventh inning as Elias used his fastball and sharp changeup around 150km/h. He retired all but four batters in order. However, in the eighth inning, he was hit by a single from Kim Sung-wook. The team was unable to capitalize on runners on first and second in the third and fourth innings, and could only manage a single run in the eighth. SSG coach Kim Won-hyung vowed to fight back, saying, “The players’ physical condition seems to be fine.”