It’s a three-way tie.
The race for fifth place in the KBO has narrowed down to a two-way tie between SSG and KIA. Doosan got their momentum going with a three-game sweep of KIA, and they’re 3-2 since then, which isn’t bad. Meanwhile, SSG and KIA have taken care of business, allowing Doosan to solidify fourth place. They have a 3-4 game lead over SSG and KIA in 5th and 6th place.
LG is 10 wins away from its first pennant race in 29 years. It’s the magic number 10. The battle for second place is a two-way tie between KT and NC. KT and LG are separated by 6.5 games, while KT and NC are separated by 2 games. Third-place NC has a 2.5-game lead over fourth-place Doosan. It’s possible that Doosan could move into the second place fight, and it’s also possible that they could drop down to the fifth place fight.
It’s not entirely out of the question that seventh-place Lotte could join the fight for fifth. Seventh-place Lotte and sixth-place KIA are separated by 3.5 games. In any case, given the current gap in the standings and the strength and flow of each team, the battle for fifth place is likely to come down to a two-way battle between SSG and KIA.
With this in mind, SSG and KIA will have a so-called “Chuseok tournament”. They will play a two-game series in Incheon on the 30th and the 1st of next month. Only one game separates fifth-place SSG, with 64 wins, 62 losses, two draws and a 0.508 winning percentage, and sixth-place KIA, with 61 wins, 61 losses, two draws and a 0.500 winning percentage. There are a lot of different scenarios that could happen depending on the outcome, from SSG solidifying their position to KIA pulling off an upset, or even biting the bullet.
Interestingly, the Chuseok tournament is not the end of the story. The two teams will play a two-game series this weekend, followed by the season finale in Gwangju on October 10. If the battle for fifth place is really going to come down to the wire, the October 10th game will be crucial.
Of course, it’s important for both SSG and KIA to take care of business in the games ahead. SSG immediately has a three-game homestand, including a doubleheader against Doosan on October 26-27. KIA also has a four-game road trip, including a doubleheader against NC on the 26th and 28th. These results will shake up the fifth place battle.
Neither team has played too well in September. SSG is last in the league with 4 wins, 1 draw and 14 losses this month. Both offenses are down and there are 토토사이트 injuries. According to baseball stats site Statiz, the team ranks seventh in September with a .252 batting average, ninth with a .680 OPS, and ninth with a 4.49 team ERA.
Kia is 8-11, including a whopping 1-9 against Daegu Samsung on April 12. They are last in the league with a 6.35 team ERA, fourth with a 0.266 team batting average, and sixth with a 0.717 team OPS. Four starters are out of the lineup – Park Chan-ho, Choi Won-joon, Na Sung-beom, and Choi Hyung-woo. The team needs to find a way to fill the void immediately.