Heroes ride winning streak into striking distance of first place

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Heroes ride winning streak into striking distance of first place

Published: 04 Jul. 2022, 15:39

Lee Jung-hoo rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run at the bottom of the fifth inning against the Kia Tigers at Gocheok Sky Dome in southern Seoul on June 28. [NEWS1]

The second-place Kiwoom Heroes rode an eight-game winning streak to move within 1.5 games of first place last week, putting the SSG Landers under serious pressure for the first time since the early days of the 2022 season.

The LG Twins sit comfortably in third place, with a significant gap separating the top three from the rest of the pack. The KT Wiz have now taken fourth place, with a seven-game losing streak pushing the Kia Tigers back into fifth to round off the top half of the table.

The Heroes faced the Tigers in their midweek series last week, one of only two match-ups that managed to play all three games as the rainy season arrived in force across the country. Benefiting from their covered field at Gocheok Sky Dome, the Heroes swept the Tigers — 5-2, 1-0, 5-4.

The Seoul club continued that momentum into the weekend as they were paired up with the last-place Hanwha Eagles, again at home. The Heroes had little trouble dispatching the Eagles, again sweeping the visitors — 7-5, 3-0, 2-1.

With no other domes in the country, only the Wiz and sixth-place Samsung Lions managed to see out their midweek series as Daegu was spared the worst of the evening rains. KT took the opening game 14-4, before losing the second game 8-2 and taking the rubber match 13-2.

The first-place Landers managed to play two games of their midweek series against the Eagles in Daejeon, splitting the difference with the home side taking the opener 6-3 and the Landers coming back to take game two 8-3. The Landers had far better luck over the weekend against the Tigers, putting the Gwangju club on the wrong side of a sweep for the second time last week — 7-6, 2-1, 3-2.

Playing in Seoul, the third-place Twins and the ninth-place NC Dinos had very little luck with the weather, only managing to get through the opening game of their three-game series. The Twins took the win on that one 5-0. Moving into the weekend, the Twins took on the seventh-place Lotte Giants, winning the opening game 2-1, before losing Saturday's match-up 8-1 and taking the rubber match 4-1 for a series victory.

Down in Busan, the Lotte Giants played host to the eighth-place Doosan Bears to start off their week. Battling the elements as much as each other, the two sides played to a 3-3 tie across eight innings on Tuesday, missed out on Wednesday's game and then returned Thursday for the Giants to take a more comfortable 5-1 win.

The Bears' slide continued over the weekend, dropping all three games — 11-7, 8-3, 6-0 — to the Wiz at Suwon KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi. With just two wins in their last 10 games, the Bears, perennial Korean Series contenders for the last decade, are in serious danger of falling into the bottom two.

The final game of the week saw the Lions visit the Dinos in Changwon, where the home side took two big wins after a rain cancellation on Friday — 17-1, 11-6.

Things are unlikely to improve for the Bears this week as they take on local rivals the Heroes at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul from Tuesday. Also in the capital area, the Landers will play host to the Giants at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon. Heading south, the Dinos join the Eagles in Daejeon while the Twins head to Daegu to take on the Lions. The Wiz and the Tigers will meet in Gwangju to round off the midweek fixtures.

Heavy rain is once again forecast nationwide throughout the coming week with the rainy season now in full swing. With no games scheduled at Gocheon Sky Dome until Friday, cancellations could be an issue across the league.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]