"I thought this shouldn't happen," a veteran's dignity surprises the coaching staff as NC Dinos escape a five-game losing streak and head into a crucial five-game home series.

*This content was translated by AI.

NC Dinos, currently stuck at the bottom of the standings, snapped their five-game losing streak. They now face a five-game home series. The gap to the fifth-place team is just 3.5 games. How they perform in these five home games could completely reshape the standings. This week is of critical importance.

NC manager Lee Ho-jun (50) met with reporters ahead of the home game against the Hanwha Eagles at Changwon NC Park on the 26th, part of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League schedule, and emphasized, "It's a relief to have broken the losing streak, but we must perform well in our upcoming six-game home series."

The atmosphere naturally sank due to the extended losing streak. That was when the veterans stepped up.

Manager Lee Ho-jun stated, "Thanks to Park Geon-woo and Park Min-woo, even when we're losing, the dugout remains lively. They believe they can turn things around, and as long as the mood doesn't drop, they think they can climb back up. They're actually fighting harder than ever, even when trailing by a large margin. Seeing them continue to do so in the dugout made me reflect again. I thought, 'The players have a strong desire to do better, so let's do even better,' and 'I need to step up too.'"

There have been many instances of bad luck. Manager Lee noted, "When things aren't going well, the players we planned to rely on fail to hit or pitch effectively. I believe any team would face similar situations. However, I think those issues are starting to resolve. Just as Geon-woo did yesterday, once we start getting hits and those problems clear up, I believe we can turn things around."

In a long 144-game season, the process is as important as the results, but without results, a vicious cycle repeated itself. Manager Lee expressed regret, saying, "Because the results weren't good, the players became discouraged. Trying to do more, both batters and pitchers showed forms they shouldn't have, including (Koo) Chang-mo."

Once again, it was the veterans who stepped up in a crisis. Manager Lee explained, "I had the thought, 'This shouldn't be happening,' but fortunately, the next day the veterans immediately called a meeting among the players. Even though we lost, I kept hearing those encouraging words. The same happened on the 24th in Gyeonggi. I felt relieved. Without that, it would have been truly difficult."

Although they started the game ambitiously after breaking the losing streak, there were disappointing moments from the first inning. With one out and a runner on first, outfielder Han Seok-hyun failed to catch Moon Hyun-bin's hit cleanly, allowing Yonatan Peraza to reach third base. Later, on Kang Baek-ho's ground ball to the third baseman, the defense could have ended the inning with a double play by getting the runner at second and throwing to first, but they attempted to make a play at home to catch Peraza. However, Peraza's clever play resulted in a run scoring.

Therefore, the decision to cancel the game due to rain was even more welcome. Natsuki Toda will start the game on the 27th. Despite a somewhat disappointing record of 2 wins and 5 losses with a 4.54 ERA in eight games this season, he has pitched well in his last two outings, allowing only two runs (one earned) over 11 2/3 innings, generating high expectations.

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*This content was translated by AI.