'Explosion of four hits ahead of reserve duty': Lotte's Son Seong-bin, despite 25 scoreless at-bats, prioritized his teammates first. "Coach, thanks to (late) Seung-min and Seung-yeop."

*This content was translated by AI.

Just as his batting form was improving, he was called up for reserve duty. Nevertheless, Lotte Giants' Son Seong-bin (24) expressed satisfaction at finally shedding the mental strain he had endured.

On the 28th, at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, Son Seong-bin started as the ninth hitter and catcher in Lotte's home game against the LG Twins in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season. He went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, leading Lotte to an 11-9 victory.

It was his first career four-hit game. After being drafted first overall by Lotte in the 2021 KBO Rookie Draft following his graduation from Jangang High School, his previous single-game record for most hits was three, achieved on August 11, 2023, against the Busan KIA Tigers and on June 28, 2024, against the Busan Hanwha Eagles.

The quality of his contact was excellent, with three doubles. In the bottom of the third inning, leading off, he hit a pitch on the inside corner, resulting in a double down the left-field line. In the very next at-bat, he pulled another inside pitch for a hit to left field.

He also handled fastballs well. In the bottom of the fifth, he faced pitcher Kim Young-woo, who throws a fastball reaching 156 km/h. However, Son Seong-bin repeatedly drove balls at 152 km/h and finally sent a 151 km/h inside high pitch down the left-field line for his second double.

The final at-bat was the highlight. LG had mounted a comeback, scoring five runs in the top of the fifth to narrow the deficit to 7-9. In the bottom of the sixth with two outs and runners on first and second, Son Seong-bin pulled LG's ace reliever Kim Jin-seong's forkball, hitting a two-run double that crossed the gap between left and center field, seizing the momentum.

After the game, Son Seong-bin met with reporters and said, "My timing was excellent. During pre-game batting practice, Coach Lee Seong-gon saw me hitting and said, 'Let's lower Son's bat position a bit; it's too high right now.' That was the key point." He expressed his gratitude.

Before hitting four hits today, Son Seong-bin had gone 25 consecutive at-bats without a hit since his third at-bat in the June 16 game against the Incheon SSG Landers. The mental strain must have been severe. Looking back, the impact of being hit on the back of his hand by Guillermo Heredia's swing in the the 17th game against Incheon SSG was also significant.

Son Seong-bin said, "I really couldn't get results. Coaches Jeong Gyeong-bae, Lee Seong-gon, and Lee Byung-kyu all paid close attention to me and provided a lot of help. I feel like I was able to repay them, which made me even happier." He offered his thanks first.

When reporters asked if the pain on the back of his hand had an effect, Son Seong-bin smiled and replied, "I thought it didn't, but it did. As my grip strength in my left hand faded, balls that should have gone inside the foul line all became fouls. But now, I'm fine."

He is a warm-hearted catcher who looked after his teammates, who were also struggling with poor batting. Son Seong-bin revealed, "Today's performance was really thanks to (late) Seung-min and (Na) Seung-yeop. Seung-min applied an energy patch for me because he said it would bring good energy, and Seung-yeop wore my catcher's mitt for 10 minutes because he said it would bring good energy. Seung-yeop told me before the game, 'I think you'll be the MVP today,' and it really came true."

He also played a key role defensively as Lotte's starting catcher. Lotte's starter Jeremy Bissell was ejected under the headshot rule after giving up four runs in 4 1/3 innings. With the relief pitchers struggling to enter the game, Son Seong-bin had to lead the team through the remaining five innings.

However, he first checked on Song Chan-ui, who had been hit on the head. Son Seong-bin told reporters, "(Song) Chan-ui, are you okay? (After hearing that he seemed fine) I'm so relieved. I was really startled." He then explained, "Bissell's outside fastball kept getting inside, so I thought the two-seam fastball would stay outside and called for an outside two-seam sign. But that pitch got away."

In the top of the ninth inning, with Lotte leading 11-9 and a crisis with no outs and runners on first and second, he made a decisive play by throwing out runner Moon Sung-ju at second base with a strong arm. Son Seong-bin said, "Even if my throw doesn't get the runner out, if I can reduce the gap between the bases, there's a chance the runner will be out at third if the batter mishits a bunt. I threw with full trust in our infielders."

Both teams were exhausted after two consecutive days of nearly four-hour battles. In the end, Lotte secured the victory. Despite a challenging schedule facing the NC Dinos and LG, where they held a losing record against them this season, Lotte succeeded in a two-game winning streak, gaining momentum. Son Seong-bin, who stood at the forefront, will be temporarily absent for reserve duty training from June 30 to July 2.

Son Seong-bin, who had been struggling and said, "I think I'm going to throw up," smiled broadly and said, "So many things happened, but in the end, we won. Regardless of the result or how the pitchers threw, we are one team. If we win, that's all that matters."

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*This content was translated by AI.