SSG Landers Seek Respite from Franchise-Worst Losing Streak at Home
Quick Look
- The SSG Landers, enduring a franchise-worst 12-game losing streak and falling to eighth place in the KBO, aim to turn their fortunes around during a six-game homestand starting this week.
- They face the last-place Kiwoom Heroes and the second-place KT Wiz.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The SSG Landers are experiencing a franchise-worst 12-game losing streak in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), plummeting from fourth place to eighth. They lost 20 games in May, tying for the second most in a month in league history.
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- Having lost a franchise-worst 12 straight games, the SSG Landers will try to snap out of their funk during their six-game home stand this week.
The Landers have not won since May 16. They were in fourth place in the 10-team Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) then, with a 22-18-1 (wins-losses-ties) record that put them only two games out of first place.
Then the free fall happened. Following a 6-2 loss to the Hanwha Eagles on Sunday, the Landers are in eighth place at 22-30-1, now 10 1/2 games back of the first-place LG Twins and just three games up on the last-place Kiwoom Heroes.
The Landers lost 20 games in May to tie for the second most losses in a month in league history.
With the calendar now flipped to June, the Landers will look for a fresh start. They will open the new week with three straight home games in the western city of Incheon against the Heroes (20-34-1), whose eight-game slide has been overshadowed by the Landers' nosedive.
After that, the second-place KT Wiz (32-20-1) will visit the Landers from Friday to Sunday.
During their 12-game slide, covering the May 17-31 period, the Landers ranked last in the KBO with a .220 batting average, 40 runs scored and a .635 on-base plus slugging. On the pitching side, the Landers had the league-worst 6.39 ERA, almost two full runs worse than the league average during that stretch. Their pitchers served up the most home runs (20) and the most walks (48).
Before visiting the Landers, the Wiz will battle the KBO-leading LG Twins (33-20-0) at their home in Suwon from Tuesday to Thursday.
Only a half game separates these two rivals, with the Twins riding a three-game winning streak, and the Wiz having won four in a row.
Elsewhere, the fourth-place Kia Tigers (28-25-1) will seek to snap a three-game slide as they host the ninth-place Lotte Giants (21-30-1) and the third-place Samsung Lions (31-20-1) this week in Gwangju.
The Hanwha Eagles (27-25-0), who have won four straight to climb to fifth place, will be on a six-game road trip through Seoul and Busan -- facing the sixth-place Doosan Bears (25-28-1) and then the Giants.
Open Questions
- Will the SSG Landers be able to break their losing streak during their home stand?
- What factors contributed to the team's significant decline in performance?
- How will this losing streak impact the team's season outlook and playoff chances?
