"I tried to change it in the eighth inning, but he went up → I'm not tired of the bullpen yet."

*This content was translated by AI.

Lotte Giants manager Kim Tae-hyung (59) praised foreign pitcher Elvin Rodriguez, who showed off his overwhelming pitching of eight innings at the Kiwoom Heroes the previous day (10th).

Head coach Kim Tae-hyung met with reporters ahead of the away game against Kiwoom of the "2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League" at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 11th.

Coach Kim said, "Actually, I was going to replace it in the eighth inning. I thought about Chung Hyun-soo and Park Jung-min, but if the score was higher, Chung Hyun-soo would have entered, and if I couldn't take out the score, I tried to give Park Jung-min. But Rodriguez said he would throw more, so he put him on the mound. He also told me to take a batter and ask. Because you can't let even one runner out and change it," he explained.

On the previous day, Rodriguez pitched 104 pitches in eight innings, silencing the Kiwoom batters with 11 strikeouts and one run. In particular, the fastball with a maximum speed of 157 kilometers per hour and perfect control were outstanding. Following Kim Jin-wook's good pitching of one run in eight innings against KT on the 8th, Rodriguez was in charge of eight innings, and in Lotte's history, he set the record of pitching more than eight innings and one run or less in two consecutive games for the first time in 11 years since 2015.

When reporters pointed out that it would have been a welcome rain in the bullpen, manager Kim said, "Our bullpen pitchers will not be tired yet," adding, "Because we haven't played a few games yet." He added, "Not only did I throw it in rotation, but I will not feel uncomfortable (physically) at this point."

Regarding the use of Son Sung-bin, not Yoo Kang-nam, as the starting catcher for three consecutive games, head coach Kim Tae-hyung said, "Both catchers are not in sync. In such a situation, Son Seong-bin is judged to be a little better on the defense side. He explained, "I don't think about hitting (Son Sung-bin)."

Meanwhile, Lotte has set up its starting lineup in the order of Hwang Sung-bin (center fielder), Reyes (left wing), Noh Jin-hyuk (first baseman), Han Dong-hee (third baseman), Jeon Joon-woo (designated hitter), Yoon Dong-hee (right wing), Han Tae-yang (second baseman), Son Sung-bin (captor), and Jeon Min-jae (striker). The starting pitcher is a foreign right-hander Bisley.

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*This content was translated by AI.