1 PO left
NC Dinos’ Park Gun-woo celebrates after hitting a single with two outs in the eighth inning during the semifinal round of the baseball ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Postseason’ between the NC Dinos and SSG Landers at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Oct. 23.
“I think it’s time for the seniors to step up.”
That’s what NC manager Kang Myung-hwa, who has been playing and maneuvering like a man possessed
in the postseason (PS), said before the second game of the semi-playoffs (best-of-three PO-5) against
SSG at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on April 23. And his words became a reality like a lie.
NC, which finished fourth in the regular season, defeated SSG, which finished third in the regular season,
7-3, thanks to strong performances from veterans Son As-seob and Park Gun-woo, both in their 30s. With
their second straight win after a 4-3 victory the day before, NC is now just one win away from qualifying
for the Playoffs (PO). Until last year, six of the eight teams (75%) that won both Game 1 and Game 2 in the 14 best-of-five semi-POs advanced to the POs.
NC head coach Kang In-hwa
The weight of both teams’ starting lineups favored SSG. NC’s starting pitcher was Song Myung-ki, who
went 4-9 in the season, while SSG started left-handed ace Kim Kwang-hyun. Kim Kwang-hyun, who won 9
games in the regular season (8 losses), also had a decent showing against NC, going 1-1 with a 3.31 ERA in three appearances.
However, NC, which has been on a roll since the Wild Card (WC) deciding game against Doosan, pounded him in the first inning.
Top hitter Son Asub opened the offense with an infield single to shortstop. Park Min-woo grounded out
to second, but Park Gun-woo singled to left to put runners on first and second, and Martin followed with
a double down the right field line. With runners on second and third, Kwon Hee-dong singled and Seo
Ho-chul followed with a sacrifice fly to give NC a 3-0 lead. In the second inning, after back-to-back walks
put runners on first and second, Park Gun-woo hit a single to right-center field to score another run.
SSG’s best pitcher
Kim Kwang-hyun, was pulled early after throwing three innings due to an open wound on the callus of his left thumb following an early slump. After a scoreless third inning, NC’s Song Myung-ki gave up a two-run homer to Han Yoo-seom in the bottom of the fourth before handing the mound over to Choi Sung-young. 슬롯사이트