SSG Landers manager Lee Seung-yong urged players and coaches to execute the game plan well.
On the 20th, Lee Seung-yong said in an interview before the game against the KIA Tigers in the '2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League' held at Incheon SSG Landers Field, "The game the day before yesterday was important, but yesterday's game was really crucial," reflecting on the victory from the previous match.
SSG won 4-2 against the Kiwoom Heroes in the '2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League' match held at Seoul Gocheok Sky Dome on the 19th. With this victory, SSG secured a winning series in the weekday three-game series. The match went to 11 innings, and after a fierce battle, SSG emerged victorious. SSG was trailing Kiwoom 0-2 but turned the game around with a solo home run by Han Yoo-seom in the 4th inning, a tying solo homer by Choi Ji-hoon in the 9th, and a go-ahead two-run homer by Seok Jeong-woo in the 11th inning.
Lee Seung-yong remarked, "The moment (Choi) Ji-hoon hit the home run, I was convinced that we would definitely win today. Until then, to be honest, I thought today would also not be easy. In the 6th inning, with the bases loaded, I quickly replaced (Kim) Chan-hyeong with (Oh) Tae-gon, but we ended up with a double play. So I thought today was not going well either, but Ji-hoon hit the home run and gave me confidence. I didn’t expect (Seok) Jeong-woo to become a hero," he said with a smile. He added, "I considered using a pinch hitter, but since Jeong-woo's balance didn't look bad, I trusted him. He hit a home run, so I was really thankful. That's why I started him today, but it rained. He will also start tomorrow."
There was a thrilling moment when SSG almost lost the momentum of the game. In the top of the 11th inning, with the score tied at 2-2 and no outs, Jeong Jun-jae attempted a surprise bunt on the second pitch but was ruled to have swung and missed, resulting in a disappointing standing strikeout. However, thanks to Seok Jeong-woo hitting a go-ahead two-run homer in the next at-bat, SSG was able to secure the victory.
Lee Seung-yong reflected on the situation, saying, "The first pitch was a hitting sign, and the second pitch was also a hitting sign. But suddenly a bunt was called, and I found out that third base coach Jo Dong-hwa must have thought that the first pitch swing looked unconfident, so he gave the surprise bunt sign. It was good for the coach to judge based on the situation, but I have my own strategy, so I advised him to not issue another sign if I give a hitting sign next time."
Lee Seung-yong noted, "There was a similar situation in the 10th inning," explaining that with two outs and a runner on first, (Park) Seong-han issued a sign to the runner (Kim) Seong-wook to steal. However, he failed to get a good start. He said he couldn’t catch the timing. I thought that even if the start was a bit late and he got out at second base, it wouldn’t be bad for Seong-han to start as the lead-off hitter in the next inning. It wouldn’t be bad even if the steal failed, but if successful, we could expect a hit from Seong-han. However, the play didn’t unfold as planned according to the sign. I talked with coach Jo Dong-hwa that next time we need to create a sign that says to go no matter what, even if he gets out."
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