The SSG Landers have lost their second straight game and dropped to sixth place in the KBO.

SSG lost 11-13 against the Doosan Bears in the 2024 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on March 9. It was their second straight loss. The loss dropped SSG, which is ranked sixth in the league with 53 wins, one draw and 54 losses and a .495 winning percentage, to the bottom five once again after dropping to seventh place last month.

SSG, which is in a tight postseason race, has been hovering between the fifth and seventh spots since May 18, when it held the fourth spot. From May 31 to May 17, the team held steady at No. 5, but after dropping to No. 6 on May 18, the team has been bouncing back and forth between No. 5 and No. 7. “It’s like doing pull-ups,” said SSG head coach Lee Sung-yong, laughing at the difficulty of the rankings.

SSG, which dropped to sixth, must first snap a two-game losing streak and reclaim the fifth spot. Franchise ace Kim Kwang-hyun will take the mound for the second game of the weekend’s three-game series with a huge responsibility.

With a career record of 165-96-2 with a 3.31 ERA in 378 games (2129 innings) in the KBO, the veteran ace has been up and down this season and has struggled to regain his form. In 22 games (113⅔ innings), he is 7-8 with a 5.30 ERA.

The second half of the season has been particularly bad for him.

Kim Kwang-hyun is 1-3 with a 7.83 ERA in five games (23 innings) in the second half of the season. On April 4 against Samsung Electronics, he gave up four runs on three hits, six walks, and two hits with four strikeouts in three innings. Against Doosan, he is 1-0 with a 4.61 ERA in three games (13⅔ innings).

In an interview on June 6, 안전놀이터 Lee said, “First of all, he doesn’t have command. I think I tend to struggle with hitters. When my command is good and I get a favorable ball count, my curve works, but when my first-pitch strike rate and other things are not good, I get a lot of strikeouts and it becomes a difficult game.” Lee diagnosed the cause of Kim’s slump.

When asked if he would give Kwang-hyun additional rest after skipping one start from May 29 to June 7, Lee said, “The original plan was to give him one rest during the season, but now I’m thinking about various things. I think he can still overcome it, so I’m going to keep going with him,” Lee said, showing his faith in Kim Kwang-hyun.

Like SSG,

Fourth-place Doosan (57 wins, 2 draws, 53 losses, .518 winning percentage), who also need one point, will start Choi Seung-yong. Choi has a 5.79 ERA in five games (4⅔ innings) and one start this season. In one start against SSG, Choi threw ⅓ innings of one-hit ball with no runs allowed. In his last appearance, he pitched ⅓ innings of scoreless relief against LG and earned a no-hitter. He’s been pitching in relief a lot lately, so it’s hard for him to get long innings.

Kim Kwang-hyun has struggled this season, but he is the franchise ace that symbolizes SSG. With the team in desperate need of a win, fans will be eager to see if the ace can deliver a game-winning performance.