The Lotte Giants had a tight fight with the leading LG Twins until the middle of the game. Starting pitcher Park Se-woong allowed Austin Dean to make a first two-run shot in the top of the first inning, but Jeon Joon-woo’s timely hit and three consecutive 꽁머니사이트 hits in the bottom of the second inning tied the score. LG scored an additional run in the top of the third inning, but Lotte succeeded in chasing again in the bottom of the fourth inning when Yoo Kang-nam fired a left-handed solo shot. Lotte fans, who visited the stadium and filled the home team’s cheering seats even in the bad weather, sang a cheering song, “Lotte wins!” and got excited.
Meanwhile, a crisis came to Lotte in the top of the sixth inning. Starter Park Se-woong is on the verge of losing a point again. He caught leadoff hitter Austin with a ground ball and scored his first out count, but after giving up a left-handed hit to Oh Ji-hwan, the fastball he sprayed on Park Dong-won fell out, making it a hit ball, leading to a series of on-base hits. Park Se-woong couldn’t hide his disappointment by jumping back and running like he was blaming himself after a walk. The number of pitches was 90. With only a few pitches left, not only individuals but also teams could win at first and second bases with one out.
In the sixth inning, Park Se-woong was clearly shaken. He had difficulty in winning because he couldn’t control the ball. Due to the wet mound condition from the previous day to the afternoon of the day, he appeared to kick his soles on the pitch as if he felt uncomfortable with the sand stuck in the spike. The scene showed not only pitching but also emotionally shaking. It was also burdensome that left-handed batters were waiting one after another in the opponent’s lineup.
In this situation, Lotte manager Larry Sutton came out to the bench and approached the referee. Seeing Sutton with his right hand out, the referee asked if he would like to replace the pitcher. However, Sutton went back to the bench after talking to the referee for a while. The appeal was that LG’s third base coach Park Yong-geun might be leaving the box too much. Park Se-woong stayed on the mound as he was. Kim Jin-wook and Shin Jung-rak were already on standby in the first base bullpen.
Lotte was not in a relaxed situation. It is time to gain momentum for a rebound beyond the 50% winning rate. After losing three consecutive games recently, he barely won the match against Hanwha in Daejeon on the 6th, and it did not collapse easily with a tight match against LG after a day off. It was a must-have match for Lotte, so it was worth trying to end the crisis of losing a point and promote a winning move.
Park Se-woong eventually lost a point by giving up a timely right-handed hit in the match against Moon Bo-kyung, who met with one out and runners on first and second base. In the match against Park Hae-min, he induced a ground ball to shortstop, but failed to lead to a double play, leading to a situation with two outs and runners on first and third base. He threw 12 pitches while dealing with two batters, exceeding the limit. In the end, Lotte pitching coach Kim Hyun-wook took the mound, and Park Se-woong gave the ball after talking to coach Kim for a while. Kim Jin-wook, who took the mound as a relief pitcher, gave up a timely two-run hit to Shin Min-jae in the second and third bases with two outs that led to Park Hae-min’s steal, and the game tilted toward LG. In the seventh inning, he gave up six runs and knocked down.
Looking back on Park Se-woong’s recent pitching, Lotte Bench’s faith is also understandable at first glance. He was a native ace who pitched quality starts (more than six innings and less than three earned runs) in the previous eight consecutive games, and was the best pitcher in the recent starting lineup. It was also worth considering that it was the number of pitches that could face at least one or two more batters. However, looking back at the situation of the team, which was disappointed with pitching and one win at the time when not only the ball power but also the mental shaking was visible, there is a question mark on whether the judgment based on this belief was right. It can be seen as a result, but the game was decided in this scene.
