Lotte Giants manager Kim Tae-hyung won his first winning series of his first season in office against the "friendly" Doosan Bears. With Lotte experiencing a more difficult trend than expected at the beginning of the season, it is time for manager Kim to raise his spurt to advance to the fall baseball league. It is also a possible scenario only when the FA trio of Yoo Gangnam, Han Hyun-hee and Roh Jin-hyuk survive.
Lotte won 7-6 against Sajik Doosan on April 7 after a bloody battle in the 10th inning of overtime, achieving its first consecutive win and winning series this season.
In the seventh inning when Lotte was losing 0-2, Yoon Dong-hee pulled out a come-from-behind grand slam from Choi Ji-gang. It was Yoon Dong-hee's first home run of the season and his first grand slam since his debut.
Lotte allowed four runs to Doosan in the top of the eighth inning and was turned around 4-6, but tied the game 6-6 with Yoo Kang-nam's RBI infield grounder and Choi Hang's timely hit in the bottom of the eighth inning with one out and runners on second and third bases.
Lotte sent a finishing runner to second with an infield single by leadoff hitter Son Ho-young and a sacrifice bunt by Lee Hak-joo in the 10th inning, and pinch hitter Lee Joo-chan ended the game with a walk-off double on the left-field line with two outs later. It was Lee's first walk-off hit since his debut. Doosan's bench asked for a video review of fair and foul, but the original verdict was upheld, and Lee was belatedly greeted by a teammate.
In the match against Sajik Doosan on the 6th, Lotte won the game 8-1 completely through starting pitcher Park Se-woong's seven innings of five hits, nine strikeouts and one run. The day after winning the game by overwhelming the pitch and batting, he ended the week with an extra-time victory after a persistent pursuit at the end of the game, setting the stage for a rebound.
Until right before the weekend, Lotte had been going through a serious decline since the beginning of the season, with two wins and eight losses. However, along with the first winning series of the season, the birth of a "new star" named Lee Ju-chan took place.
Lotte desperately needs some key players to make their best efforts to draw an upward curve. FA trio Yoo Kang-nam, Han Hyun-hee and Roh Jin-hyuk should feel particularly responsible. Yoo Kang-nam, the main catcher, played in 11 games this season/hitting 0.138/four hits/two RBIs. Veteran infielder Noh Jin-hyuk also played in 12 games/hitting 0.161/five hits/two RBIs this season. The silence of the two veteran batters in the general league-burning and pitching atmosphere in the early days of the season is clearly a fatal negative factor for the team's batters.
Han had two hits, two strikeouts and no runs in three games (3.1 innings) this season. Han, who is currently playing the role of the chasing pack, is also a player who should play an important role as a must-win or fifth starter. He is in a position where he cannot be satisfied with his current position and performance.
In reality, both the club and the field have no choice but to pay more attention to ways to save high-paying FA players. However, Kim gave shock therapy to Yoo Kang-nam and Roh Jin-hyuk by excluding starters or replacing them in the middle of the game during the weekend series. Attention is focusing on whether he will appoint more backup fielders for the time being or use the two players again after a certain period of time. It is curious to see how Kim Tae-hyung will be able to succeed in his challenge to the fifth round by reviving the FA trio.
ESTÁ A LER
The 'master' who won his first win against his former wife
ContoLotte Giants manager Kim Tae-hyung won his first winning series of his first season in office against the "friendly" Doosan Bears.
