"5th place and a 4-game lead!" Coach Kim Tae-hyung says, "We thank the fans who visited the ballpark despite the weekday heat." [Busan]

*This content was translated by AI.

The Lotte Giants, armed with the team's most powerful offense that produced the season's highest number of hits, defeated the Kia Tigers. "Victory captain" Kim Tae-hyung, manager of Lotte, shared his thoughts on the win.

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

With this win, Lotte recorded 37 wins, 2 draws, and 44 losses, maintaining eighth place in the league. They trail seventh-place NC Dinos by 2.5 games and have closed the gap to fifth-place Doosan Bears to four games.

Lotte surrendered one run in the top of the first inning but scored in every inning from the first through the fourth to secure the victory.

Lotte starting pitcher Rodriguez pitched seven innings (87 total pitches), allowing three hits and one walk while striking out nine, giving up only one earned run, to secure his fifth win of the season (with five losses). Lee Jin-ha and Lee Jun-seo each followed with one inning of relief.

The lineup, which recorded a total of 18 hits, saw all starters except Ko Seung-min get at least one hit. In particular, Reyes went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Son Seong-bin went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and one run scored. Additionally, Jeon Min-jae and Han Tae-yang each recorded multi-hit games.

The 18 hits that Lotte recorded on this day set a new single-game record for the most hits in a game for Lotte this season. The previous record was 17, set during a match against LG Twins on the 12th last month.

After the game, Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung, known as the "winning coach," praised starter Rodriguez, saying, "Rodriguez showcased excellent pitching skills, delivering an ace-like performance with seven innings and one earned run, laying a solid foundation for victory."

He added, "The batters were also able to seize the momentum by scoring many runs through aggressive hitting and base-running plays from the early stages of the game. It was a match where the players' concentration shone on both offense and defense," while praising them.

Finally, Manager Kim said, "I also want to thank the fans who came to the ballpark to cheer us on despite the weekday heat."

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*This content was translated by AI.