There is no sanctuary. It’s summer. We can’t wait any longer.
The Lotte Giants are different. It is not a ‘baseball of faith’ that relies on the experience of veterans. They make cold judgements and make decisions quickly.
This was the case against the KIA Tigers in Busan on the 3rd, when Lotte made a series of bold decisions and turned a 0-3 deficit into a 6-5 victory.
Apart from the game, it was the quick and bold decisions of the Lotte bench that stood out.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, down 0-3, Lotte put together a walk, a hit, an error, and a hit batter to load the bases. They desperately needed a run. Han Dong-hee stepped up to the plate.
However, Han hasn’t been the same player she was last year. In her first at-bat of the day, she hit a clean single up the middle, but in this at-bat, she hit a 643 killing blow.
Lotte had another chance to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth. Leadoff hitter Jeon Jun-woo reached on a lucky double, and Ahn Chi-hong followed with a walk to bring down KIA starter Medina, who had been pitching well.
However, Yoon Dong-hee and Noh Jin-hyuk followed with back-to-back singles. With runners on first and second, Han Dong-hee walked. Lotte manager Larry Sutton turned to pinch-hitter Go Seung-min.
He drew a walk to load the bases, and Yoo Kang-nam followed with a two-run double down the right field line. Lotte now trailed 2-3.
Kia manager Kim Jong-kook brought up left-handed pitcher Lee Jun-young to face the next batter, Kim Min-seok, but Lotte made one more twist: they brought in “left-handed killer” Jung Hoon. Jung Hoon lived up to the bench’s expectations with a two-run, game-tying single in the third inning.
The mound operation of pitching coach Bae Young-soo, who was appointed this year, is also characterised by quick and bold decisions. LOTTE fans affectionately and faithfully call it “baseball of distrust.
It continued on this day. In the top of the eighth inning, Kim Jin-wook, the third pitcher, gave up a single to Choi Hyung-woo, the first batter, and was replaced without delay. The next pitcher, Kim Sang-soo, allowed the tying run to score, and with runners on first and third, Kim Won-joong, the closer, was able to get out of the jam. 안전놀이터
In the bottom of the ninth, Lotte had their third chance to tie the game when Park Seung-wook, Jeon Jun-woo and Ahn Chi-hong drew back-to-back walks. Yoon Dong-hee struck out, but Noh Jin-hyuk put an end to the game with a powerful finish off the right field fence.