The defending Korean baseball champions SSG Landers will begin their pursuit of a second straight championship this weekend against the hot-swinging NC Dinos.As the No. 3 seed from the regular season, the Landers will have the home field advantage in the best-of-five first round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason. Game 1 starts at 2 p.m. Sunday at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, some 30 kilometers west of Seoul, followed by Game 2 at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the same venue.The Dinos, the No. 4 seed who knocked off the Doosan Bears in Thursday’s wild card game, will host Game 3 at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Changwon NC Park in the southeastern town of Changwon. If necessary, Game 4 will be back in Changwon at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Should the series go the distance, the deciding game will be in Incheon at 2 p.m. on Oct. 28. The two teams split their season series, each winning eight games in 16 meetings.
The Landers and the Dinos took their battle for the No. 3 seed down to the final days of the regular season this week. The Landers won their last two games Monday and Tuesday over the Bears, while the Dinos dropped their final two games, both against the Kia Tigers, to fall to fourth place and the wild card game.The Dinos swung the hot bat in knocking off the Bears in the wild card contest Thursday night, with Seo Ho-cheol and Kim Hyung-jun combining for three home runs and 10 RBIs in a 14-9 victory.The Dinos did not have their No. 1 starter, Erick Fedde, available for that game, because he’d pitched Monday. Also during that Monday’s game, Fedde was struck in the right forearm by a batted ball, throwing his status for the postseason into doubt.
Dinos manager Kang In-kwon said Thursday that Fedde was making progress, and he would determine exactly when Fedde would take the ball after practice Friday.Fedde wasn’t just the best pitcher for the Dinos. He had one of the most dominant seasons by a starting pitcher in KBO history, as he became the first foreign starter to win the pitching Triple Crown as the league leader in wins (20), ERA (2.00) and strikeouts (209).In two regular season starts against the Landers, Fedde went 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA. If deemed healthy, Fedde would start Game 1 on five days’ rest. And he would also be lined up to start Game 5 if the series goes the distance.For the Landers, veteran left-hander Kim Kwang-hyun had a 1-1 record and a 3.31 ERA in three regular 슬롯사이트 season starts against the Dinos.
