Ten teams preparing for the second half of the season. The only difference is that they are all at full strength.
This is the biggest race of all time. No team is giving up. Leader LG and second-place SSG are separated by 2.5 games.
However, LG was 6th in July with a 3-4 record and SSG was 8th with a 2-5 record.
The teams below them are also shaky.
They’ve all had down years this season. Many of these teams have only been able to stay in the top half of the standings because other teams have taken turns struggling with injuries. Meanwhile, there are teams that have made a late surge in the first half.
Doosan moved up to third place in July with a nine-game winning streak.
Kia is also on the rise with a 7-2 record. It’s not all glitter. The new foreign duo of Sanchez and Panoni have arrived, and Jung Hae-young has resurfaced to crack down on the back door. The addition of Na Sung-beom, Kim Do-young, Choi Won-joon, and Kim Tae-gun has given the top and bottom of the lineup a much different feel.
KT is a dark horse in the top five after going 15-8 in June and 6-4 in July. The team has regained its starting pitching and is looking more cohesive.
Hanwha is also on a roll. They were fourth in May with 11 wins, 2 losses, and 10 draws, sixth in June with 13 wins, 1 loss, and 10 draws, and fourth in July with 4 wins and 3 losses. This is the third consecutive month that the team has exceeded a 5 percent winning percentage. They’re still in eighth place because they’ve forgotten so much from the Carlos Subero era, but they have plenty of momentum to climb. The outside pitching duo is solid, and the young players are figuring out how to win. The center of the infield is back, too.
The three teams that have been struggling are Lotte, NC, and Samsung.
Lotte is in last place with a 2-6 record in July after finishing eighth with a 9-16 record in June. The psychological threshold of a 5 percent winning percentage has also been broken. They finished the first half with a -1 record. The bullpen has a 5.37 ERA, the lowest among the 10 clubs.
NC hasn’t won 5 games in three straight months since May. They are 3-6 in July, which ranks seventh.
The starting lineup is the problem. The homegrown starting lineup has been decimated by string injuries. Key pitchers like Koo Chang-mo and Lee Jae-hak are missing. They are not in a position to return immediately. Rookie Lee Yong-jun, who had a breakout first half, is looking a little tired.토스카지노
However, there is hope. There are signs that the younger members of the starting rotation, such as Song Myung-ki and Shin Min-hyuk, are coming back to life. With the stable duo of Peddie and Widener and a deep bullpen, this is not a team to be trifled with. The return of Park Gun-woo from his suspension is also a good sign for the batting order.
After finishing the first half in ninth place and five games out of last place, the team has shown signs of rebounding, going 4-5 in July after finishing 10th for two straight months in May and June. With a strong starting troika of Buchanan Suarez and Won Tae-in, the team has the power to make a run if the bullpen and batting lineup are up to the task.
The second half of the season, with the Asian Games and rainouts to factor in. There’s plenty of potential for upsets.