'Iimura again scoreless' — the back door is this comfortable! Lotte defeats KT 4-1 to secure winning series [Suwon On-site Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

It has been a while since the back end of the bullpen was this reliable. The Lotte Giants, bolstered by steady relief pitching, achieved a winning series against KT Wiz.

On the 4th, Lotte defeated KT 4-1 in an away game at Suwon KT Wiz Park as part of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season.

With this victory, eighth-place Lotte, now on a two-game winning streak, secured a winning series and improved to 36 wins, 2 ties, and 43 losses, closing in on the mid-table pack. Meanwhile, third-place KT, now on a three-game losing streak, fell to 44 wins, 1 tie, and 35 losses, allowing fourth-place KIA Tigers to catch up.

The stability of Lotte's bullpen was highlighted with the addition of new foreign pitcher Iimura Shota. Iimura contributed to bullpen stability by remaining scoreless in three consecutive July appearances. On this day, he entered in the seventh inning and retired one batter over one inning using just 13 pitches, allowing only one strikeout while pitching a perfect frame. Following him, Choi Jun-yong recorded a hold with one scoreless inning allowing one hit, and Kim Won-jung earned his fourth save of the season with another scoreless inning.

In the starting pitcher matchup, Lotte claimed a no-decision victory. Lotte's Jeremy Wisely pitched six innings, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out six batters and surrendering one run, improving his record to 5 wins (4 losses) for the season. KT's Ko Young-pyo delivered a strong outing over five and one-third innings, allowing seven hits with no walks and six strikeouts, but gave up two runs without support from his offense, taking on his sixth loss of the season (6 wins).

Lotte also dominated offensively, racking up nine total hits compared to KT's three. Ko Seung-min went 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored; Victor Reyes hit two doubles in four at-bats; and pinch hitter Noh Jin-hyuk contributed with a single and an RBI in one at-bat.

For this game, Lotte lined up its batting order as follows: Hwang Seong-bin (center field), Ko Seung-min (second base), Victor Reyes (left field), Han Dong-hee (designated hitter), Na Seung-yeop (first base), Park Chan-hyung (third base), Yoon Dong-hee (right field), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), and Son Seong-bin (catcher). Jeremy Wisely was the starting pitcher.

KT countered with this lineup: Ryu Hyun-in (third base), Kim Hyun-su (first base), Ahn Hyeon-min (designated hitter), Sam Hilliard (center field), Kim Sang-soo (second base), Kim Min-hyuk (left field), Jang Jin-hyuk (right field), Han Seung-taek (catcher), and Kwon Dong-jin (shortstop). Ko Young-pyo started on the mound for KT.

KT, the home team, took the early lead. In the bottom of the third inning with one out, Kwon Dong-jin reached base with a double to center-right field. He advanced to third base on Ryu Hyun-in's infield ground ball and scored when Kim Hyun-su hit a two-run double down the left-field line.

Lotte responded in the top of the sixth inning while trailing 0-1. Leadoff batter Hwang Seong-bin reached base with a double down the left-field line. Ko Seung-min followed with a single to left field, driving in one run to tie the game at 1-1. Reyes then hit a single to right field, and Han Dong-hee's fly ball to right field resulted in two outs with runners on first and third, prompting KT to change pitchers.

On Na Seung-yeop's infield ground ball to first base, runner Ko Seung-min scored from third, giving Lotte a 2-1 lead. Lotte continued to extend its advantage. In the top of the eighth inning with two outs, Reyes reached base on Kim Hyun-su's fielding error. Han Dong-hee drew an intentional walk, and pinch hitter Noh Jin-hyuk delivered a single to left field, driving in one run to make it 3-1.

In the top of the ninth inning, continued errors by KT hampered their efforts. Jeon Min-jae and Son Seong-bin reached base on consecutive errors by Ryu Hyun-in. Hwang Seong-bin then hit a two-run double down center-right field off reliever Son Dong-hyun's forkball, extending Lotte's lead to 4-1.

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*This content was translated by AI.