Oliver's injured resilience could not overcome 'Choi Jeong-landers' → Two-run homer and historic record surrendered... SSG's new foreign investor makes a victorious debut [Incheon on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Even the injured resilience of the top foreign ace could not stop 'Choi Jeong-landers'.

SSG Landers defeated the KIA Tigers 6-0 at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 16th. Led by Choi Jeong (39), who contributed three RBIs including a two-run homer, and the strong debut performance of new foreign pitcher Avila (29), the team secured a satisfying victory.

In today's game, KIA starter Oliver (32) suffered an unexpected incident in the bottom of the 1st inning when his right calf was struck by a one-bounce hit from Park Sung-han. Although Oliver continued pitching with injured resilience, he ultimately could not overcome Choi Jeong's barrier.

In the bottom of the 3rd inning with one out and bases loaded, Choi Jeong scored the first RBI via a center field sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the 5th inning with one out and runners on second base while leading 1-0, he hit a two-run home run to left field off Oliver. On a 3-2 count, he connected with his sixth pitch—a 135 km/h slider—and launched a massive arch covering 130 meters.

With this, Choi Jeong achieved the first-ever 11 consecutive seasons of 20 home runs in KBO League history. After reaching 10 consecutive seasons of 20 home runs from 2016 to last year for the first time, he extended his record by one additional season. Following Choi Jeong are Park Byung-ho with 9 consecutive seasons (2012–2022, excluding overseas stints in 2016–2017) and Lee Seung-yeop with 8 consecutive seasons (1997–2012, excluding overseas stints in 2004–2011).

Additionally, with this home run, Choi Jeong also achieved his second-ever 1,000 hits in history. Since his debut in 2005, he has recorded 538 home runs, 450 doubles, and 12 triples. The first record in this category was set by Choi Hyung-woo (Samsung Lions) against the Doosan Bears on May 31 this year. At that time, Choi Hyung-woo was 42 years, 5 months, and 15 days old, while Choi Jeong set the youngest record at 39 years, 4 months, and 18 days.

After Oliver departed following Choi Jeong's home run, KIA reliever Kim Beom-su surrendered another run via a sacrifice hit to Choi Ji-hoon. In the bottom of the 7th inning, Ko Myung-jun drove in a two-run homer (his 9th of the season) off Han Jae-seung, sealing the victory for SSG.

Replacing Benigiano, Avila made his KBO League debut today. Mixing a fastball clocked at 155 km/h, a two-seam fastball at 154 km/h, and a cutter at 149 km/h, he pitched 6 innings allowing 3 hits, walking 1 batter, and striking out 8 batters without surrendering any runs (94 pitches), capping his debut with a win.

In contrast, Oliver threw 103 pitches over 4⅓ innings, allowing 6 hits and 3 earned runs, suffering his sixth loss of the season (with 9 wins). His season ERA rose from 2.36 to 2.52.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original