'And' Lotte, a whopping 18 hits landed properly! A complete victory against KIA, which declared 'all-out war'... Rodriguez 7 innings, 1 earned run + Reyes 4 hits [Busan On-Site Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

The Lotte Giants, leading with a lineup that saw all starters reach base, defeated the KIA Tigers and succeeded in seizing the initiative.

On the 7th, Lotte secured a 10-2 victory over KIA in their regular-season home game at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League.

With this win, Lotte recorded 37 wins, 2 draws, and 44 losses. They maintained 8th place in the league standings. Meanwhile, KIA finished with 44 wins, 2 draws, and 38 losses, holding onto their 4th-place position.

This was the final three-game series of the first half. On this day, Lotte set its starting lineup as follows: Hwang Seong-bin (center fielder), Go Seung-min (first baseman), Reyes (left fielder), Han Dong-hee (designated hitter), Park Chan-hyung (third baseman), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), Han Tae-yang (second baseman), Jang Du-seong (right fielder), and Son Seong-bin (catcher). The starting pitcher was Rodriguez.

In response, KIA set its starting lineup as follows: Park Jae-hyun (left fielder), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Castro (designated hitter), Na Sung-beom (right fielder), Han Jun-su (catcher), Park Sang-jun (first baseman), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Kim Kyu-seong (shortstop), and Kim Ho-ryeong (center fielder). The starting pitcher was Kim Tae-hyung.

KIA manager Lee Beom-ho declared an all-out war before the game, stating, "Starting today, we plan to operate both games as tightly as a postseason series. If Taehyung collapses early, there's nothing we can do, but if he pitches well through the 4th inning, we intend to immediately bring in one reliever from the 5th inning onward. Of course, if he goes four innings, he might make it to the 5th. We are thinking of playing today and tomorrow as if they were postseason games, exhausting our entire bullpen so that even if we have only Hyun-jong and Dong-ha left for the final day, we will try to get through both games somehow."

KIA took an early lead in the top of the 1st inning with one run. Leadoff batter Park Jae-hyun drew a walk, but Kim Do-young and Castro were retired in succession via strikeout; however, Na Sung-beom hit a sacrifice single to left field.

Lotte then scored in every inning from the bottom of the 1st through the bottom of the 4th, effectively deciding the outcome of the game.

In the bottom of the 1st, leadoff batter Hwang Seong-bin hit a double that dropped just inside the left-field line. Following Go Seung-min's sacrifice bunt, he reached third base and scored on Reyes' two-run double to center-left field. Subsequent batter Han Dong-hee successfully reached base via walk. Although Park Chan-hyung was retired by strikeout, Jeon Min-jae hit an infield single toward the third baseman, creating a bases-loaded situation. Then, on Han Tae-yang's infield single to the second baseman, Reyes from third base scored. This was not the end. Subsequent batter Jang Du-seong unleashed a two-run double to center field, making the score 4-1.

In the bottom of the 2nd, Lotte demonstrated focus with two outs and added another run. After Reyes reached base with an infield single to center-left field, Kim Tae-hyung committed a fielding error on a ground ball to the pitcher by Han Dong-hee, resulting in runners at first and second. Then Park Chan-hyung hit a sacrifice single to right field, extending the lead to 5-1.

Lotte added three more runs in the bottom of the 3rd. Following a walk by leadoff batter Han Tae-yang with one out and a runner on second, Son Seong-bin hit a two-run double to center-left field. Then, with two outs, after Go Seung-min drew a walk, Reyes and Han Dong-hee hit consecutive sacrifice flies. The score had already widened to 8-1. In the bottom of the 4th, Lotte escaped further with Son Seong-bin hitting a sacrifice single to right field with two outs and runners on first and third, pushing the lead to 9-1. Ultimately, both teams exchanged one run each in the 8th inning, and Lotte defeated KIA 10-2.

Lotte starting pitcher Rodriguez pitched 7 innings (87 total pitches), allowing 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 9 batters, giving up only 1 earned run, to secure his 5th win of the season (with 5 losses). Lee Jin-ha and Lee Jun-seo each pitched one inning with responsibility. In the lineup that produced a total of 18 hits, all starters except Go Seung-min recorded at least one hit. Notably, Reyes went 4-for-4 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored, while Son Seong-bin went 4-for-3 with 2 RBIs and 1 run scored. Additionally, Jeon Min-jae and Han Tae-yang each recorded multi-hit games.

In contrast, KIA starting pitcher Kim Tae-hyung took the loss after pitching 2⅔ innings (80 total pitches), allowing 10 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4 batters, giving up 8 runs (7 earned). This was his third loss of the season (with 2 wins). The KIA lineup managed only scattered 5 hits.

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*This content was translated by AI.