바카라“I was lying in bed, trying to fall asleep, and yesterday’s game popped into my head. I didn’t sleep well.”
It’s a series of “sweet potato defeats. The commander’s insides are burning.
Lotte will play the final game of the weekend series against SSG Landers on July 6 at Sajik Stadium in Busan.
Out of the seven series in July, only one was a win (against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil on July 25-27), and before they could turn things around, they were swept in a three-game series in Gwangju against the KIA Tigers.
The next six-game home series would set the tone for the second half of the season for the faltering Lotte. However, after taking two of three against the NC Dinos, Lotte lost two of three in the ‘Distribution Derby’ against SSG, confirming their series loss.
Each loss is a series of games that upset Lotte fans. Especially against NC, Lotte lost two games after taking the lead in all three games. In the first game, they lost in 11 extra innings, and in the third game, they gave Widener a lifeline after he was ‘confirmed out’.
Against SSG, they were pummeled by Choo Shin-soo for nine hits and seven runs over two days, and lost the first game with four kills and a series of ridiculous mistakes. From supermarkets to coffee shops, the losses were particularly damaging.
The 2023 KBO League game between the Lotte Giants and the KIA Tigers was held at Sajik Stadium in Busan on Feb. 2. Lotte’s Lee Jung-geun. Busan=Park Jae-man 기자pjm@sportschosun.com/2023.06.02/
By now, the gap to the fifth-place KT Wiz had widened to five and a half games. The slump in June and July has continued in August. It’s hard to avoid the criticism of ‘a month longer spring’.
“After the game, I had a nice dinner with my family (in Korea),” said Lotte manager Larry Sutton before the game. But as I tried to fall asleep, I couldn’t stop thinking about the moments of yesterday’s game.” His bloodshot eyes and roughened face reflected his recent mental struggles.
In particular, a grounder to third base with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth inning with a 5-3 lead was the most painful. After picking up the grounder, Han Dong-hee stepped on third base and threw home instead of first base. If the catcher caught it and tagged the runner at third, the inning would have been over, but he stood there dumbfounded, giving up a run and ultimately losing the game. Earlier in the inning, Choi Joo-hwan’s fly ball to left field was not caught by Yoon Dong-hee.
Coach Sutton explained, “Han Dong-hee has a slow bat, so I thought it was better to throw to home than first base. However, she took third base almost at the same time as she caught the ball, and the umpire made the mistake of not seeing it,” explains Sutton.
Han Dong-hee took third base the moment she caught the grounder. But Choi didn’t see it. Photo credit=Lotte Giants
As for Yoon Dong-hee, he said, “First of all, I started in left-center field (due to the shift). It was a good start and a good pitch. It was a pitch that I would normally catch,” Sutton said, adding that Yoon’s quadriceps and hamstrings aren’t 100 percent these days, so he couldn’t get to the ball.
Sutton added: “Fortunately, her batting cycle is going up. She’s striking out a lot, but that means she’s putting herself in scoring position. We’re getting good at-bats, and the pitchers are fighting as hard as they can,” Sutton said, trying to find the positives.
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