Kang Jin-sung, the hottest bat in the SSG Landers lineup for the week, led the team to snap a five-game losing streak.
SSG snapped a five-game losing streak with a 2-1 win in the 12th game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the LG Twins at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Tuesday. The team improved to 56 wins, 1 tie, and 46 losses (.549) on the season.토토사이트
On this day, Kang Jin-sung was named to the starting lineup as the sixth outfielder and left fielder. In addition to playing first base, he also has experience in the outfield corner defense, having previously played for the NC Dinos and Doosan Bears. SSG manager Kim Won-hyung expressed his excitement ahead of the game, saying, “Kang Jin-sung has been playing well lately, so I wanted to maximize his hitting as much as possible while going out to the outfield.”
His hopes were realized. Kang went 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a run scored, reaching base four times. It was his fourth three-hit game this season, following a four-hit game against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil on June 22, a four-hit game against the SSG Landers in Incheon on June 6, and a four-hit game against the Lotte Giants in Busan on June 16.
Kang hit a four-pitch fastball from LG starter Adam Plutko to left field in the bottom of the second inning, and he drove in Plutko with an infield single in the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the sixth, he drew a walk and came around to score off Park Myung-geun in the bottom of the eighth. With two outs, he came home on a wild pitch to give his team the lead, and that’s how the game ended. The only other time a base hit turned into a run was in the bottom of the eighth inning, but Kang continued to harass Plutko for scoring opportunities.
After the game, Kang said, “First of all, I’m really happy to break the team’s losing streak. I wanted to break the streak quickly as the team’s mood could sink. I’m glad we were able to break the streak before the end of the week, and I hope we can rebound from the win on the 20th and go on a winning streak.”
Including the game, Kang went 10-for-20 with one home run, a .500 batting average, five RBIs and a 1.150 OPS for the week, the third-highest average in the league behind Austin Dean (LG – 0.538) and Chan Ho Park (KIA Tigers – 0.520). While he hasn’t started every game, he’s been a solid .306 with 33 doubles, three home runs, 17 RBIs and an OPS of 0.819 in 43 games since being acquired from the Doosan Bears on May 25.
Kang said, “Even when I wasn’t playing, I was always practicing. I’m happy that the work I’ve been doing on my batting timing is leading to good results lately,” he said, adding, “I want to play a role like ‘salt’ in the remaining games, and I want to do my best to help the team with every opportunity I’m given.”