SSG Landers manager Lee Soong-yong looked back on the dramatic walk-off victory.
In an interview before the 2024 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League game against Lotte Giants held at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 1st, manager Lee Soong-yong said, “I was completely exhausted yesterday. So I should have been happy when the walk-off home run went over, but I just had a relieved expression on my face,” and laughed.
SSG won 12-11 in the 12th inning of a fierce battle against Lotte on the 31st of last month, thanks to Oh Tae-gon’s walk-off home run, and continued their five-game winning streak. They overcame a five-point lead in the 9th inning to tie the game, and were able to achieve a dramatic victory when they hit a walk-off home run in the 12th inning of extra innings with two outs and a runner on first base while losing 10-11.
In the 12th inning with runners on 1st and 2nd base, Kim Min-sik’s sharp hit was caught by the pitcher’s line drive and turned into a double play, and the game flow seemed to have completely shifted to Lotte’s side. Manager Lee Soong-yong said, “That hit went into my glove, so honestly, when the double play happened, I thought it was over for today. But (Oh) Tae-gon hit a bluff, so I didn’t react. I thought baseball could be like this. It was hard for me, but the players must have had a harder time. But the players never gave up and worked hard until the end, and that’s why we got that result.”
He praised the players for not giving up until the end.
Rookie Jung Jun-jae hit a 1-RBI single in the bottom of the 9th inning with 1 out and bases loaded when SSG was down 5-10, but he also made an error play by rushing out to Jang Du-seong’s bunt in the top of the 12th inning with no outs and a runner on 1st base and falling down. Manager Lee Soong-yong said, “(Jung) Jun-jae is playing third base for the first time in the pros. Due to team circumstances, I have no choice but to look at the third baseman, 토토사이트 순위 but I think his agility is not bad. If he does well from the beginning, he is not a rookie. Looking at what he has done so far, I think he is doing well,” he said, protecting Jung Jun-jae.
Manager Lee Soong-yong said, “The pitching staff was overloaded. I was going to remove one fielder and add one more pitcher, but after much thought, I ended up sending (Jeon) Ui-san. (Choi) Sang-min also thought about it, but the coaching staff decided that it was right to send Ui-san, so that was the decision. Ui-san is currently in a situation where he is behind in the pinch hitter order. He has no other role than first base defense. The outfield also needs (Han) Yoo-seom and Heredia’s physical management, so Sang-min had no choice but to send Ui-san instead,” he explained the reason for sending Jeon Ui-san down to the second team.
SSG is currently down to only one first baseman,
Oh Tae-gon, with Go Myung-jun suffering a hamstring injury and Jeon Ui-san also being sent down to the second team. Manager Lee Soong-yong said, “(Choi) Jeong-i is also preparing, and (Park) Ji-hwan can also play first base. For now, Tae-gon will likely continue to be the starting player. It is a difficult time for him physically, but I think Tae-gon will have some leeway since he hasn’t played in many games.”
“I heard that (Lee) Geon-wook is the best in the minor league,” said Manager Lee Soong-yong. “They said they would pitch three consecutive games in the second half, but it’s also true that the bullpen pitchers are under too much pressure. I also recognize that (Noh) Kyung-eun and (Cho) Byung-hyun have pitched a lot. I think the pitchers need more leeway, so I decided to go with 14 pitchers.”