'Kkoldae' reality hits! Lotte squanders bases-loaded opportunity, collapses with wild pitch, falls to last place → also overtaken by Kiwoom

*This content was translated by AI.

The fall of the Lotte Giants to last place has finally become reality. They have truly become the 'Kkoldae' (last-place Lotte). Despite strong pitching from the starting pitcher, a lack of focus and fatal error-prone plays piled up, preventing them from overcoming the wall of powerhouse LG Twins.

On the 14th, Lotte suffered a 1-6 comeback loss in the final game of the weekend three-game series against LG Twins held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul Songpa-gu. After taking a commanding 16-5 victory in the first game to build momentum, Lotte lost the next two games in a row, recording a losing series and widening the win-loss margin to -15. Ultimately, they were overtaken by Kiwoom Heroes, who secured a win against Hanwha Eagles on the same day, and slid to last place (10th) in the league.

Lotte took the lead first in the bottom of the 5th inning, but LG did not miss the opportunity when Lotte wavered. In the bottom of the 6th, Park Hae-min drew a walk to lead off against Lotte's starting pitcher Jeremy Wisler, who had been pitching well. Following Austin's hit, Moon Bo-kyung hit a two-run double to center field, tying the game at 1-1.

In the bottom of the 7th, Lotte's defensive weaknesses became glaring. With one out and a runner on second, LG's Hong Chang-gi hit a large fly ball toward left field. It was a ball that a fast and wide-ranging fielder could have handled, but Lotte's foreign left fielder Victor Reyes' slow footwork led to a game-winning two-run double.

In fact, Lotte also had a chance to turn the tide. In the top of the 8th, facing reliever Kim Jin-seong and closer Son Ju-young, Jang Du-seong hit a single, Reyes was walked intentionally, and Na Seung-yeop drew a walk, creating a bases-loaded opportunity with two outs. However, Jeon Min-jae swung and missed at Son Ju-young's breaking ball for a strikeout, squandering the chance to tie the game.

The 'chance after crisis' belonged to LG. In the bottom of the 8th, LG built momentum with consecutive hits from Moon Sung-ju and Cheon Seong-ho. At that moment, Cheon Seong-ho's hit was aided by an error-prone play from third baseman Lee Ho-jun, who had entered as a defensive substitute. Additionally, a critical wild pitch by Lotte relief pitcher Kim Won-jung created a bases-loaded situation.

Ultimately, Kim Won-jung walked Park Dong-won and then allowed a two-run double to Shin Min-jae that sliced through the infield playing in, completely collapsing. LG, having seized the momentum, added a further two-run hit by Hong Chang-gi and a bases-loaded walk by Austin, scoring four runs in the 8th inning alone and delivering a 'KO' punch to Lotte.

Lotte starter Wisler did his part with seven innings, seven hits allowed, six strikeouts, and two earned runs, but became a painful loss pitcher due to the lineup's silence and the bench's lax discipline. Lotte, showing a decline in focus across offense, defense, and base running, was even overtaken by Kiwoom, accepting the worst possible report card: a fall to last place.

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*This content was translated by AI.