'10G 3 Wins' Lotte, 'Luck Was on Our Side' But 4 Hits Were Not Enough to Win [Busan Field]

*This content was translated by AI.

In 10 games, the record stands at 3 wins and 7 losses, with a team batting average of 0.230.

The Lotte Giants' slump is deepening. Especially due to the poor performance of the lineup, games that are difficult to win are repeating.

On the 5th, Lotte suffered a heavy 2-9 defeat against the Hanwha Eagles in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League home game held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan.

With two consecutive losses, the record is now 22 wins, 33 losses, and 1 tie. The gap with the eighth-place NC Dinos has widened to 2.5 games, and Lotte failed to pull away from the last-place Kiwoom Heroes by even 2.5 games.

While there may be more than one or two issues with lower-ranked teams, the recent volatility of the lineup has become serious.

Lotte, which made a major roster change on the 3rd by removing two coaches and four players, faced an even more painful situation as Han Tae-yang and Park Seung-wook, who had recently shown strong batting form, were lost, making an unavoidable gap in the team's strength.

Han Tae-yang, who had been batting 0.364 (4 hits in 11 at-bats) during the 10th games Lotte recently played, twisted his ankle during the game against the KIA Tigers on the 3rd and was diagnosed with a sprain, disappearing from the first-division roster.

Park Seung-wook was also lost. Playing in 47 games this season with a batting average of 0.280 (23 hits in 82 at-bats), Park was particularly strong in scoring positions with a 0.407 average. Since the 31st of last month, he showed symptoms of a neck sprain, and the team announced today that he was removed from the roster due to a slow recovery speed.

Although Reyes, Jeon Min-jae, and Hwang Sung-bin were showing excellent batting form, the Lotte lineup collapsed helplessly upon facing the opposing ace.

It was not that they lacked opportunities. Luck finally came to the Lotte lineup, which managed only one hit through the third inning. In the bottom of the fourth, leadoff batter Ko Seung-min was struck out but reached base on a strikeout with a foul ball not caught.

However, Reyes and Na Seung-yeop hit consecutive infield grounders, causing the lead runner to be retired in succession. Kim Min-seong hit a ball toward left field, but for Hanwha left fielder Moon Hyun-bin, the ball disappeared into the lights, and the hit went backward. In the meantime, Na Seung-yeop, the runner on first, scored the tying run. But that was all. With two outs and a runner on second, Son Ho-young grounded out to the shortstop on an outside changeup.

Even in the bottom of the sixth, when trailing 1-6, there was an opportunity. With two outs, Reyes reached base on an error by opposing shortstop Sim Woo-jun, and Na Seung-yeop scored on a double to left-center field. However, Kim Min-seong later struck out swinging at an outside high cutter from Ryu Hyun-jin, failing to maintain the scoring opportunity.

It was not just a weakness against Ryu Hyun-jin. Against Park Sang-won, who appeared consecutively from the seventh inning, Lotte recorded three up, three down. Against Lee Sang-gyu, Hwang Sung-bin reached base on a walk, and with two outs, a wild pitch put a runner on base again, but Reyes also grounded out, forcing Lotte to hang their heads. In the final offensive inning of the ninth, leadoff batter Na Seung-yeop hit a single, but this time Kim Min-seong hit into a double play, and the runner was erased.

The game ended with only four hits through the ninth inning. Despite errors and error-prone plays by the opponent, Lotte managed only two runs. The four hits came solely from Na Seung-yeop and Kim Min-seong. Although the two batters were placed consecutively, they never recorded back-to-back hits. With the offense failing to connect, expecting runs was impossible. Manager Kim Tae-hyung could not help but sigh deeply.

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*This content was translated by AI.