Kim Gwang-hyeon’s phobia that kept the Lotte Giants at bay for 9 years. However, in the end, he failed to cut off that phobia due to bullpen hunting.메이저놀이터
Lotte suffered a cataclysmic loss of 7 runs in the 8th inning against SSG Landers in the regular season of the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 17th and lost 5-8.
Lotte, who was mired in three consecutive losses. In a situation where he had to overcome the recent downturn, he had to deal with ‘natural enemy’ Kim Gwang-hyun. Kim Gwang-hyun is Lotte’s natural enemy. He is on a 11-game winning streak since the game on May 27, 2015 (6 scoreless innings). In his most recent game, the resignation game on May 20, he overwhelmed the Lotte batting line with 6 innings, 1 hit, 9 strikeouts and no runs.
The game where Lotte last defeated Kim Gwang-hyun and lost the match dates back nine years. In the resignation game on September 10, 2014, Kim Gwang-hyun gave 11 hits and 3 walks in 5⅓ innings and scored 9 runs, giving him the yoke of defeat. They haven’t lost in 9 years. During this period, the team was recording an extremely strong record of 15 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw in the game in which Kim Gwang-hyun took the mound.
However, Kim Gwang-hyun had to spend time on self-reflection while experiencing a drinking controversy during the recent World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournament. He returned to Changwon NC on the 11th, but was sluggish with 5 hits (1 home run), 2 walks, 4 strikeouts and 4 runs in 4⅓ innings.
Still, Lotte’s downturn was a situation that had to be overcome on its own. Coach Sutton showed an unconventional lineup with Koh Seung-min as the lead-off, strengthening his will to escape from sluggishness and escape from his natural enemy.
From the first episode, an unusual flow was created. Leading batter Koh Seung-min played a full count game and went on base with a walk, and then Jeon Jun-woo and Ahn Chi-hong all walked. A chance was created without sacrificing bases. However, the chance was ruined as Rex struck out in the bases without a hit and Han Dong-hee withdrew due to a double stroke.
Once again, it seemed that the game was played in a steamy stream. But this time it was different. A preemptive point was created to wash away the regrets of the second and first episodes that followed. In the second inning, lead batsman Yoon Dong-hee took the opportunity with a left-handed hit, and Yoo Gang-nam broke the silence with a preemptive two-run gun. Gangnam Yoo: Personally, it was the second gun of the season that exploded 70 days after April 8th. Lotte scored a home run in about four years after Ahn Joong-yeol (now NC) in a game against Kim Gwang-hyun on July 26, 2019.
Lotte took the lead. Afterwards, Kim Min-seok’s infield hit and second base steal, and Jeon Jun-woo’s pitcher infield hit made 2 out 1st and 3rd base, with a double steal strategy from the bench, shaking Kim Gwang-hyun by squeezing one point.
There was no additional point, but if Kim Gwang-hyun was dealt maximum damage, he was beaten in 5 innings. He gave up 6 hits (1 home run), 5 walks, 4 strikeouts and 3 runs in 5 innings.
An uneasy lead continued as they failed to score an additional point, but Jeon Jun-woo’s 2 RBIs and timely hits broke out with 2 outs and bases loaded in the top of the 6th inning. On the mound, Park Se-woong won a landslide victory against Kim Gwang-hyun as a native ace. He allowed 1 run in the 6th inning, but overcame the crisis by allowing only 1 run in the crisis faced by SSG’s center batting line. He came down the mound after 7 innings, 3 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts and 1 run.
However, from the 8th episode, Lotte’s nightmare began. Kim Jin-wook, Koo Seung-min, Kim Won-joong, and Pil Seung-jo were called closers, but they failed to keep a 4-point lead. In the bottom of the 8th inning, he gave up 7 runs and turned 5-8. At the end of the 8th inning, which was being chased 5-4, Kim Won-joong, who finished with 2 outs and bases loaded, got hit by Jeon Eui-san with 3 RBIs and a sweeping double. It was a shocking defeat that no one expected.
In the end, Lotte was unable to defeat Kim Gwang-hyun. It was recorded as a no-decision. Kim Gwang-hyun’s record of 11 consecutive wins continued. In the end, Lotte’s bad relationship could not be broken again. Is this a fate that Lotte cannot break?