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| photo courtesy of Lotte Giants |
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| photo courtesy of Lotte Giants |
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| photo courtesy of Lotte Giants |
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Is it the toss and turn of a giant who was sleeping or is it a real wake-up call.
Lotte Giants woke up from the brink of last-place fall. Lotte won the second game of the week series against the NC Dinos 14-7 at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 7th, winning four consecutive games recently.
The two teams exchanged 28 hits, including four homers. The concentration of Lotte's batters stood out. With the victory, Lotte recorded its 45th win (54 losses and 3 draws) of the season, ranking ninth without a loss to the eighth-place Hanwha Eagles. It narrowed the gap to two and a half games with seventh-place NC, which recorded its 53rd loss (49 wins and 2 draws).
Last weekend alone, Lotte was gradually behind Hanwha and trailing the last-place Kiwoom Heroes by 0.5 games.
However, in the midst of bad weather and heat waves, he has won four consecutive games against top-ranked teams such as SSG Landers, LG Twins, and NC Dinos, aiming for a mid-range leap forward. It is worthwhile that 18,425 fans visited the site on weekdays even in the weather like a silver lining. Could it be a variable that will shake up the ranking battle that was fixed in three groups with the No. 1 KIA Tigers, the middle rank, and the 8th to 10th place.
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| photo courtesy of Lotte Giants |
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On this day, NC played in the lineup of Park Min-woo (designated hitter), Seo Ho-chul (second base), Davison (first base), Kwon Hee-dong (left wing), Kim Hwi-jip (third base), Kim Sung-wook (center fielder), Chun Jae-hwan (right wing), Kim Hyung-joon (captor), and Kim Joo-won (striker). The first choice is veteran Lee Jae-hak.
Hwang Sung-bin (center fielder), Ko Seung-min (second base), Jeon Joon-woo (designated hitter), Reyes (left fielder), Son Ho-young (third base), Na Seung-yeop (first base), Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Park Seung-wook (striker), and Son Sung-bin (catcher). Kim Jin-wook is the first choice.
The biggest variables of the day were the home run battle between the two teams and an unexpected downpour.
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| photo courtesy of Lotte Giants |
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Lotte allowed NC Davidson to make a two-run shot in the first inning. However, in the bottom of the first inning, Ko Seung-min's tying two-run shot and Yoon Dong-hee's three-point come-from-behind shot succeeded in turning the tables 5-2 at once.
Here, an unprecedented downpour raided Sajik Stadium. The raindrops became thick in an instant without fans avoiding the upper side of the stands. About 20 minutes of rain and rain turned into a slightly weakened drizzle. From 7:09 to 8:04 the game was suspended for about 55 minutes.
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| photo courtesy of Lotte Giants |
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Both teams' starters, who broke the flow, collapsed out of control. Lotte Kim Jin-wook went down after Kim Hwi-jip's one-run timely hit after running the bases loaded with one out in the top of the third inning, and Kim Sung-wook's sacrifice fly continued, leaving a sluggish record of four hits, three walks and four runs in two ⅓ innings.
NC starter Lee Jae-hak, who gave up six runs until the second inning, was replaced after giving up an RBI double to Na Seung-yeop and a walk to Yoon Dong-hee in the bottom of the third inning. Second baseman Park Min-woo's error was added to two innings of eight hits and two walks, leaving nine runs humiliated.
Lotte solidified its victory by running to 10-4 due to Son Sung-bin's sacrifice fly in the second and third bases with one out and Ko Seung-min's infield hit in the first and third bases with two outs. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Son added four points, including a 135m three-run distance, widening the gap to 14-5.
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| photo courtesy of Lotte Giants |
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Lotte's Hwang Sung-bin's diving catch stood out when NC Davidson's sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth inning with NC's attack and one out and runners on the first and third bases. On top of that, Lotte did not allow NC to score additional points due to a flurry that continued after Kim Jin-wook, Park Jin, Han Hyun-hee, Jin Hae-soo, and Koo Seung-min.
After Lee Jae-hak, NC put Lee Joon-ho, Lim Sang-hyun, Kim Min-kyu, and former slugger Son Joo-hwan to give the main pitchers a break. In particular, Kim Min-kyu is a rookie development player who joined this year, and enjoyed his first appearance in the first division.
At the end of the eighth inning, at the end of the game, Son Joo-hwan's fastball became a 'head shot' to Lotte's Shin Yoon-hoo. Shin Yoon-hoo replaced Kim Min-seok with an unexpected head shot on the first day he was registered in the first team. Lotte's 'Pitcher'Kim Kang-hyun came out as a pinch runner on first base, and NC put in closer Lee Yong-chan to end the defensive inning without any more runs.
Lotte finished the game with Song Jae-young in the top of the eighth inning and Hyun Do-hoon in the top of the ninth inning. With this, Lotte has recently won four consecutive games, revealing its hope for fall baseball.
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| photo courtesy of Lotte Giants |
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lunarfly@sportschosun.com
