It seemed to be an opportunity for a phone call, but in the end, the mistake caught the ankle of the Lotte Giants. They fell into the swamp of 4 consecutive losses at home and faced the biggest crisis after the opening.
Lotte lost 6-7 in the 9th game of the season against KT Wiz in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 8th after a bloody battle in the 12th overtime. He fell victim to KT’s first series sweep of the season and bowed his head.
On this day, starting pitcher Dan Strayley gave KT a first run in the first inning, then lost one run in the third inning and two runs in the fourth inning, completely taking the early flow. To make matters worse, it was blocked without a goal until the 5th inning due to the exclusion of KT selection until the other line.
In the beginning of the 5th inning, when the score was 0-4, even an absurd mistake came out. The situation worsened to 2 out 1st and 2nd base as shortstop Lee Hak-joo made a catch error after Kang Hyeon-woo’s normal infield grounder in 2nd 1st base.
Soon after, Hwang Jae-kyun scored an RBI and a timely hit, and the score widened to 0-5. While the inning could have ended without a run, unnecessary points were dedicated due to lack of concentration on defense.
Lotte director Larry Sutton did not just pass by this scene. It’s a style that doesn’t usually change the blame, but this day was different. With the start of defense in the top of the 6th inning, shortstop Lee Hak-joo was replaced with Kim Min-soo, and first baseman Ko Seung-min was replaced with Jeong-hun. Park Seung-wook, who started as third baseman, moved to shortstop and Kim Min-soo was put in as third baseman.
The players also read the message from the bench urging them to play with concentration. In the top of the 7th inning, trailing 0-5, lead hitter Kim Min-soo’s triple hit opened the way for a counterattack, and Park Seung-wook’s walk on base gave him a chance to safely 1st and 3rd base. Yoo Gang-nam ended up grounding in the infield, but third base runner Kim Min-soo made
up for one point. followed up with Even the oldest Jeon Jun-woo’s two-run home run exploded, balancing the score at 5-5 in an instant. It was a reversal made by an accountable replacement rather than a change in the game flow by the introduction of a pinch hitter by the Lotte bench.
It would have been the icing on the cake if they had driven the momentum and overturned the game and decorated it with victory, but the result was defeat. After exchanging one point each with KT in the 9th inning, they lacked a back heart in the overtime that entered.
In the top of the 12th inning of extra time, KT Sang-ho’s squeeze bunt was fully expected with one out and the bases loaded, but the Lotte infield did not exert active pressure. Lee Sang-ho, who has a lot of experience and excellent maneuverability, successfully hit a sacrifice bunt and brought the runner home from third base. 먹튀검증
If Lotte had not allowed a run due to an error in the top of the 5th inning, and if the score had been maintained at 0-4, the direction of the game would have been different, so Lotte felt great regret.
The potential that pushed KT without giving up until the end can be applauded enough, but the most important victory was not obtained. I can’t say that he lost the game because of one mistake, but it had a decisive effect and eventually brought him to his knees.