Lotte looks even more amazing now that KIA and Samsung are back.
It was a week in which the joys and sorrows of the ‘nationally popular teams’ were mixed. The ‘surprising streak’ of teams with unstable power was literally ‘surprising’. Meanwhile, the Lotte Giants give the impression that the center of the team has been clearly captured.
At the end of April, the KBO League was hot. Popular clubs KIA Tigers, Samsung Lions, and Lotte Giants went on a winning streak, bringing vitality to the league. After the opening, KIA and Samsung, which were sluggish, ran 5 consecutive wins side by side. Lotte was even better. In 13 years, he recorded 9 consecutive wins and excited Busan fans.
The winning streak effect was great. KIA and Samsung, which were dying to death, ran 5 consecutive wins, 12-11 and 12-12, exceeding the 50% win rate and matching. Lotte enjoyed the joy of being at the top of the league alone for the first time in 12 years.
However, halfway through May, the joys and sorrows of these three teams are mixed. First, the team that received the most shocking report card was KIA. Over the weekend, the Doosan Bears were swept in three consecutive matches and fell into a swamp of five consecutive losses. I forgot everything I earned.
The KIA Tigers and Doosan Bears match was held at Jamsil Stadium on the 14th. The KIA players who lost 4-8 are coming out to the ground. Jamsil = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com/2023.5.14/
Looking at the recent KIA game, it is hard to believe how the team managed to win 5 games in a row just two weeks ago. It was KIA that overcame the injury gap of Na Seong-beom and Kim Do-young, but recently the cohesiveness has completely disappeared again. Here, the defense makes a difficult game by making a series of mistakes in the match. In the second game of the three-game series against Doosan on the 13th, in the first inning, Park Chan-ho opened an ‘egg’ in a shift situation and provided an excuse for 3 runs. The game got messed up here. In the last game of the 3-game series on the 14th, he destroyed himself with 3 mistakes and poor plays that were not recorded as mistakes.
Samsung is better than KIA, but it is also on the decline. After the end of the winning streak, all three consecutive matches in May ended with a losing series. 9 matches, 3 wins and 6 losses. In particular, it was painful to lose twice in a row against the Hanwha Eagles, who were the ‘neighborhood book’. On the 14th, Buchanan’s good pitching in the 3rd weekend match against the LG Twins also brought victory on the verge of victory, but Kim Tae-hoon’s card, which he believed in, collapsed and he dedicated a come-from-behind defeat.
On the 14th, a KBO league match between Samsung and LG was held at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu. Kim Tae-hoon, who got a one-out in the 7th inning and was beaten. Daegu = Reporter Jeongheon Songsongs@sportschosun.com/2023.05.14/
In the case of Samsung, it’s scary when the bat explodes, but on days when it doesn’t, the blow is too quiet and the ups and downs are severe. In addition, the winning streak was well maintained with the trade of Kim Tae-hoon, but the effect of Kim Tae-hoon is disappearing recently. 4 matches and 2 losses in May.
On the contrary, Lotte is properly showing the epitome of a strong team. After 9 wins in a row and 2 losses in a row, I thought, ‘As expected, I’m going back to my place’. However, last week, 3 consecutive matches against Doosan were decorated with 2 consecutive wins and a winning series after 2 losses in a row. In particular, in the final game of the 3-game series on the 11th, the scene where Noh Jin-hyeok won with an ending hit at the end of an extended game was a scene that showed ‘the strength has been properly attached’. In the 8th inning, with a one-point lead, Lee Hak-joo allowed a tie with a shocking mistake, but it was impressive that he changed the atmosphere of this game again.먹튀검증
Driven by this momentum, Lotte took the lead with 2 wins and 1 loss in 3 consecutive weekend away matches against KT Wiz. It is encouraging that starters Han Hyeon-hee and Strayley became winning pitchers with two consecutive scoreless pitches. When everyone was sluggish in April, Na Kyun-an was responsible for the mound alone, but in May, when Na Kyun-an was a little sluggish, Strayley and Barnes, who had not been performing well, showed a rebound. It is the epitome of a well-to-do family where each other complements each other well.