“Now if you lose three games in a row….”
The Lotte Giants have not been invited to fall baseball since 2017. This season, they appointed “winning contractor” manager Kim Tae-hyung, but he is still ranked eighth. There were also positive factors, such as Son Ho-young, who was acquired through a trade, becoming a surprise star, but the power leakage continued, including catcher Yoo Kang-nam’s knee surgery and controversy over Na Kyun-an’s privacy.
Although he is lagging behind in the rankings, it is not time to give up the dream of autumn baseball. He is three games behind KT Wiz, which is ranked fifth. Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung has set his sights on at least 60 percent of the remaining games. “If we lose like this for three consecutive games, it will be difficult to keep up with. If we lose six to seven games for two weeks, I think fall baseball will become more difficult,” Kim said. “We have to go at least four wins and two losses each.”
Key players are “domestic starters.” Both Aaron Wilkerson and Charlie Barnes are playing their part this season. Barnes was away for more than a month due to a thigh injury in late May, but has been playing the ace role with eight wins, two losses and a 2.83 ERA in 19 games. Wilkerson went 9-8 with a 3.91 ERA in 26 games. 토토사이트
Two foreign pitchers are in a situation where they can sufficiently lay the groundwork for victory. Korean pitchers desperately need support.
“There’s nothing special,” manager Kim said when talking about the fall baseball fight. “The starting pitcher is not playing a role except for two foreigners. I’m sorry about that,” he said. “It’s no exaggeration to say that the winning or losing of the remaining games depends on how much Park Se-woong and Kim Jin-wook throw from the starting lineup.” “There are times when batters fit well and sometimes they don’t. I think the fielders are organized to some extent. However, there is no clear winning card except for foreign starters. That’s important.”
For now, Park Se-woong succeeded in rebounding from the match against the Hanwha Eagles on Sunday. During seven innings, he pitched 96 pitches, allowing one run to take the mound. Though he failed to become the winning pitcher due to the lack of assistance from the batters, Lotte came from behind to win the eighth inning. The team won the game 3-1 with the fifth-ranked KT Wiz. “Park Se-woong, the starting pitcher, showed great pitching by allowing one run in seven innings, overcoming his slump. It was a pitch worthy of the name Park Se-woong,” manager Kim said with a smile.
Lotte has played a total of 116 games including games on Tuesday. It still has 28 games to play. This is the largest number among the 10 teams. Given that he has the chance to win the game on his own, Kim renewed his commitment to join the team, saying, “(The remaining games) are the most likely.”