CHANGWON, South Korea, – A loss away from elimination in their Korea Baseball Organization postseason series, the SSG Landers are desperately hoping to play another game at home.
The NC Dinos stole two games on the road in Incheon, west of Seoul, to take a 2-0 series lead over the Landers in their best-of-five first round. The Dinos will have two cracks at home in the southeastern city of Changwon in the next two days to finish off the Landers.
But if the series goes the distance, the deciding Game 5 will be back in Incheon, as the Landers hold the home field advantage as the higher seed.
“Honestly, there’s nothing else on my mind but to return to Incheon,” outfielder Han Yoo-seom said Wednesday, before the do-or-die Game 3 at Changwon NC Park. Han smoked two home runs in a 7-3 loss in Game 2 on Monday.
“We all have the same thought on our mind right now. We have to do whatever it takes to take this series back to Incheon,” he added.
The Landers dropped the first two games despite sending their two best starters from the regular season, Roenis Elias and Kim Kwang-hyun.
“It’d be a lie if I said we’re not feeling the pressure,” Han added. “But we can’t afford to look back. We have to keep going forward, trust the work we’ve done so far and try to win tonight’s game.”
Han will bat cleanup in Game 3, after hitting in the fifth spot in the first two games of the series. Manager Kim Won-hyong has used different lineups for all three games, hoping to see some spark from his offense.
“I think the manager has faith in me, and I’ll be batting cleanup for the first time in a while,” said Han, who last batted in that spot on Sept. 21. “But I don’t put much stock into where I hit in the lineup. I just want to focus on winning tonight.”
As for making yet another lineup change, Kim Won-hyong stated the obvious and said: “This is a must-win game for us. I think some hitters are gripping their bats too tight and not getting their usual bat speed.”
Dinos manager Kang In-kwon said he wants to wrap up the season Wednesday. With no viable starter available for Game 4 if the series goes that far, Kang will lean on Game 3 starter Tanner Tully to send the Landers home.
“He has to command his sliders and avoid hard contact with that pitch,” Kang said. “I told him to go full speed from the first inning. He’s been a steady pitcher for us, and I think he should be good tonight.”
Erick Fedde, the regular season Triple Crown winner, was a late scratch for Game 3 while dealing with some right forearm issues. Kang said Fedde is not a sure thing for Thursday, either.
“He got his regular work in today during practice, and he’s made progress,” Kang said of the American right-hander. “But it’s hard to say at this point if he will be able to start tomorrow.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency