When the 2024 regular season schedule was released, this is not what I would have envisioned.
The opening two games are against last year’s ninth-place Hanwha Eagles, followed by the eighth-place Samsung Lions, and then the 10th-place Kiwoom Heroes. Clearly, it was a low-pressure schedule that would allow them to rack up wins.
However, the results were not as expected. Four wins, one draw, and three losses. On top of that, they were swept in two straight games by the ‘favorite’ Kiwoom, who had lost their opening four games in a row, and recorded their first losing series of the season. The LG Twins are off to a suspicious start.
It’s a strange table, with the Hanwha Eagles sitting atop the standings after one loss and a seven-game winning streak. The KIA Tigers, who were the favorites to win the title but are led by young new coach Lee Bum-ho, are second with a 5-1 record. The NC Dinos, who were once again penciled in as a bottom-feeder after last year’s MVP Eric Peddie returned to the United States, are third with a 5-2 record, mocking the pundits. In fourth place is SSG Landers, who finished third last year but fired head coach Kim Won-hyung and hired new coach Lee Sung-yong, who has a 5-3 record.
LG finished March in fifth place, narrowly missing out on a top-five finish.
With other teams improving across the board, and LG having little reinforcements, a tough season was expected. However, they still had a solid roster and were still the favorites to win the title. Experts generally picked LG, KT Wiz, and KIA as the top three. Hanwha was labeled as a powerhouse that could finish fifth or better with the addition of Ryu Hyun-jin.
The opening two games against Hanwha were daunting. With Ryu Hyun-jin on the mound for the opening game, the pressure was on, but LG got off to a strong start, shutting him down in an 8-2 win. The next day, they were shut down by Felix Peña and lost 4-8. Still, it was enough to get a win against the “LG Killer” to start the opening two games.
The three-game series against the Samsung Lions also went well, with two wins and a draw. On the 26th, after falling behind 2-3, Hong Chang-ki’s tying solo shot in the eighth inning and Boon Bo-kyung’s RBI double and Moon Sung-joo’s game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth overcame Samsung’s top bullpen, Kim Jae-yoon and Oh Seung-hwan. On the 27th, the game was tied 2-2 without a single run. On the 28th, the offense pounded out 25 hits and scored 18 runs in a blowout 18-1 victory behind a dazzling six-inning no-hitter by No. 5 starter Son Ju-young. The team continued its good form with three wins, one draw and one loss in five games.
I never thought height would be an obstacle. Things were going well until the first game of a three-game set on Sept. 29, when starter Dietrick Enns pitched six shutout innings with 11 strikeouts and closer Young Chan Yoo got his first save to earn a 3-0 victory and a three-game sweep. Kiwoom 토토사이트 lost its opening four games in a row.
LG caught Kiwoom off guard. On the 30th, they were held to just two hits and no runs until the fifth inning, when LG starter Lim Chan-kyu gave up six runs in the fifth inning to lose 3-8. On the 31st, Casey Kelly gave up three runs in five innings as the LG bats failed to capitalize on Kiwoom starter Enmanuel De Jesus. Trailing 0-3 in the seventh inning, the team brought in closer Seung-hyun Paik, but he was hit by back-to-back home runs and gave up five runs. In the ninth inning, Kim Hyun-soo and Austin hit back-to-back home runs to score four runs and lose 4-8. They lost their first back-to-back games of the season to Kiwoom.
The team is 3-for-3 in eight games, which is good for first place overall. Aside from Oh Ji-hwan (0.207) and Moon Bo-kyung (0.226), everyone else is in good form. However, they have been strangely lacking in concentration at the plate. Especially in the early innings, they often fail to score and get stuck in a rut. They have a lot of ups and downs.
Their best games come when they are tied or losing, not when they are winning.
LG will now play NC Dinos and KT Wiz in a week’s time. The timing doesn’t seem right. They need to bounce back from two straight losses to Kiwoom. LG went 6-10 against NC last year, trailing only KIA (7-9) in the relative standings.