The first game in 22 years was “Autumn Baseball” between Samsung and LG. In the first game, Samsung overwhelmed LG with a huge home run, just like in 2002.
Samsung had a 10-4 victory in the first playoff game against LG at the “2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League” held at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Sunday. It had the advantage in the best-of-five series.
Samsung did not have much to worry about. On the day, it hit three home runs, including three by Koo Ja-wook, one by Kim Young-woong, and two by Lewin Diaz, and seized the upper hand. All of its starters hit the mound with 14 hits including a single, long and short.
“I have lost my sense of play in the game for two weeks, and if I want to produce long balls, which is my team’s strength, my team’s strength, my team’s victory or defeat will depend on how fast the batters come up,” Samsung manager Park Jin-man said before the game. Unlike LG, which finished second in the regular league and went straight to the PO to prepare for the fall baseball through training and warm-up matches. “I think I’m the only one who is worried about my sense of play,” Park said after the game.
It was LG’s complete defeat. LG had four hits on the day, but it would have been difficult to make up for three runs had it not been for Diaz, the first baseman, who threw a ground ball with the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. The team was clearly tired of fierce competition, including the fifth game between KT and JunPO.
In the midst of this, there is a rain forecast in Daegu on the afternoon of the 14th when the second match will take place. The forecast is that it will continue to rain from around 4 p.m. until dawn the next day. Of course, the amount of precipitation is not as high as 1-2 millimeters per hour. However, since the forecast is rarely wrong due to recent climate extremes, the possibility of delayed or canceled games cannot be completely ruled out.
If the second game is canceled and postponed by one day, which team will be advantageous to? It is expected to benefit LG rather than Samsung, which is in the mood.
Looking at the first game, the trend of the series has been tilted towards Samsung. The team’s powerful lineup and starting pitcher Denny Reyes displayed stellar pitching by allowing one strikeout, four hits and three runs (one earned) during six ⅔ innings. Tired, LG should have high expectations on stellar pitching by starting pitcher Detrick Ns in the second game.
If the second round is postponed by a day, LG could deploy left-hander Son Ju-young. Son displayed stellar performance in the semi-PO by banking on his fastballs with speeds exceeding 150 kilometers per hour and sharply falling breaking balls. He also led LG to advance to the PO with seven scoreless innings in two matches and one win and one hold. Notably, in the third round of the semi-PO, Son took the mound following Choi Won-tae, the starting pitcher, and pitched all-out pitching in five ⅓ innings with two hits and seven strikeouts.
Initially, LG manager 슬롯사이트 predicted that Son will start the second round of the PO after Game 5 of the semi-PO. He thought that Son’s pitching capability would be better than that of ENS. ENS played in two matches of the semi-PO, but showed sluggish performance with one loss and 7.27 ERA. He had seven earned runs in eight ⅔ innings.
However, before the first round of PO, manager Yeom said, “Nce will take the mound in Game 2, and Son Joo-young will play in Game 3.” This is because there is not enough time for Son Joo-young, who took the mound in Game 5 of the semi-PO on the 11th, to recover. At that time, Son Joo-young took the mound in the top of the seventh inning, which was the match point, and allowed two scoreless innings. Coach Yeom expressed regret, saying, “In the training part, there is also a risk for Son Joo-young to start Game 2.”
However, if the second game is postponed from Friday to Saturday, Son will have a chance to take the mound as the starting pitcher. Son will take the mound after a three-day break. Son has been strong against Samsung this year with two wins and ERA 1.04. Against Samsung, he had one loss and ERA 3.00 in two games.
The rain delay in the second game may be a little disappointing for Samsung. This is because the hitting sense has risen properly. There is a possibility that the flow will be cut off. Moreover, if LG, which is exhausted, takes a day off, it can regain its physical strength, so it is better for Samsung to play as scheduled.
Samsung’s pitching staff is also full of fresh shoulders. Not only starting pitcher Reyes but also fastball pitcher Kim Yoon-soo roared with a strikeout of Austin Dean, a slugger with 32 homers and 132 RBIs, in the top of the seventh inning with the bases loaded with two outs.
PS is forced to play even if it rains a certain amount. It is not easy to change the schedule due to the advantages and disadvantages of each team. The 2004 Samsung-Hyundai Korean Series was pushed ahead despite unfavorable conditions such as heavy rain and no hitters splashed on the ground. Chances are high that the match will be held as it is on Friday due to low rainfall expected in Daegu.
However, nobody knows what heaven will mean. Just like Zhuge Liang who earnestly wished for southeastern wind in the Three Kingdoms, Yeom also wished for rain.