This can't be! The 'AG contender' top-tier bullpen... how... 4 home runs with bases loaded in June alone → SSG's 'historic nightmare'

*This content was translated by AI.

Could this really happen? Until last season, Lee Run (22), a top-tier right-handed relief pitcher for the SSG Landers, was hailed as a 'next-generation national representative' relief pitcher after recording over 30 holds, with even talk of his selection to the Asian Games (AG) national team. Yet now, he is suffering from what can only be described as a 'historic nightmare.' In June alone, he has been directly or indirectly involved in four bases-loaded home runs, an unprecedented and brutal streak.

On the 16th, Lee Run made a relief appearance in the bottom of the 5th inning with one out and a runner on first base, while the team held a 2-1 lead, in a home game against the Lotte Giants at the Incheon SSG Landers Field. The SSG bench had brought him in to break the team's losing streak, but the result was disastrous.

Lee Run allowed a single to Han Dong-hee and then a walk to Na Seung-yeop, loading the bases. From there, Jeon Min-jae hit a first-pitch slider (139 km/h) to the left-field stands for a bases-loaded home run, instantly handing the lead to the opponent. Lee Run was ultimately removed from the mound after completing the 5th inning. He recorded 2/3 innings, allowing 2 hits (1 home run), issuing 1 walk, striking out 1 batter, and surrendering 3 earned runs. The team lost 6-10, and Lee Run was charged with the loss.

The bigger issue is that Lee Run's 'bases-loaded home run nightmare' is not just a temporary streak of bad luck; it has been brutally repeated in every series he has pitched in since the start of June. In each of the four consecutive series where Lee Run took the mound, a shocking bases-loaded home run followed.

The prelude to this brutal story began on the 6th in a home game against the KT Wiz. After making a relief appearance with the score tied 3-3, Lee Run surrendered a bases-loaded home run to Heo Kyung-min and hung his head. Then, on the 10th in a game against the LG Twins at Jamsil, with a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the 5th and no outs with the bases loaded, he again allowed a walk-off grand slam to Austin Dean, becoming the victim of a bases-loaded home run in two consecutive series.

In the game against the Samsung Lions on the 14th in Daegu, Lee Run himself created the crisis before being pulled from the mound. After allowing consecutive hits and a walk in the bottom of the 6th to load the bases, he was replaced. The reliever who came in, veteran Noh Kyung-eun, then allowed a walk-off bases-loaded home run to Lewin Diaz, meaning all of Lee Run's inherited runners crossed home plate. Just two days later, in the Lotte game on the 16th, Lee Run directly surrendered another bases-loaded home run. In just four series played in June, he has been forced to surrender bases-loaded home runs in every single one.

For a single pitcher to be involved in bases-loaded home run situations and allow runs four times in less than two weeks is an incredibly rare string of bad luck in KBO League history, and it is also clear evidence of a serious decline in his pitching ability.

In fact, Lee Run was considered a key future asset, a relief pitcher capable of shouldering the mound at future international tournaments like the Asian Games (AG), based on his powerful fastball. Last season, he appeared in 75 games, posting an impressive record of 7 wins, 5 losses, 33 holds, 1 save, and a 1.99 ERA. However, his ERA this season has skyrocketed to 7.04. While his batting average against is not excessively high at 0.246, his WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) is poor at 1.57.

This season, the SSG has faced some difficulties in operating its starting rotation. As a result, the bullpen has been overworked, and the top relievers have been called upon earlier than usual. Ultimately, the bullpen has been unable to withstand the pressure.

From a top-tier relief prospect once eyeing the Asian Games stage, Lee Run has received a harsh report card for June alone: involvement in four bases-loaded home runs. As he endures a brutal June, attention is focused on the SSG bench's future decision: will Lee Run shake off this 'historic nightmare' and stand tall again as the future of the Landers, or will he become the spark that leads to a bullpen collapse?

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*This content was translated by AI.