'Overnight special practice for 2 hours the day before → Lunch, then another 3-hour "intense" training... Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung's answer was simple: "If we can't win, we have to." [Busan field]

*This content was translated by AI.

"If we can't win (we'll do special practice at least)."

Manager Kim Tae-hyung (59) of the Lotte Giants gave a simple answer regarding the overnight special practice that lasted nearly two hours the previous day (the 22nd).

Lotte announced its starting lineup for the home game against SSG Landers at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium on the 23rd as part of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season.

On this day, Lotte arranged its batting order with Hwang Sung-bin (center fielder), Go Seung-min (second baseman), Victor Reyes (right fielder), Han Dong-hee (designated hitter), Na Seung-yeop (first baseman), Han Tae-yang (third baseman), Jeon Jun-woo (left fielder), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), and Son Seong-bin (catcher). The starting pitcher was Alvin Rodriguez.

In response, SSG set its lineup with Jung Jun-jae (second baseman), Park Sung-han (shortstop), Bly Madris (left fielder), Kim Jae-hwan (designated hitter), Jeon Ui-san (first baseman), Choi Ji-hoon (center fielder), Jo Hyung-woo (catcher), Im Geun-woo (right fielder), and Hongdae-in (third baseman). The starting pitcher was Kim Min-jun.

The biggest topic was Lotte's intense training for two consecutive days. The day before, Lotte managed only one hit against SSG's foreign starting pitcher Pedro Avila through five innings and lost 3-7.

Following the game, under Manager Kim Tae-hyung's instruction, all Lotte players conducted special practice for nearly two hours. The same happened today (the 23rd). According to a Lotte club official, after lunch, the team began training in the early afternoon that lasted about three hours.

Regarding this, Manager Kim Tae-hyung simply replied, "If we can't win (we'll do special practice at least)." He also expressed regret over starting pitcher Park Se-woong, who gave up four innings with seven hits allowed (one home run), two walks, three strikeouts, and five earned runs.

Manager Kim Tae-hyung said, "(Park) Se-woong kept running away. There are no key players like Choi Jeong or Heredia on SSG right now. With Se-woong's pitching, we should have been able to hold our ground and win, but he kept throwing pitches that ran away."

He added, "It's also hot today. If you can't secure a strike and just throw balls, the number of pitches increases, making it difficult for fielders too. When the tempo drags on like that, fielders' concentration drops."

Jeon Jun-woo, who returned to the first division team the day before, is also being trusted for now. The previous day, Jeon Jun-woo showed a disappointing performance, including being retired by a center fielder fly ball with two outs and bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning. Manager Kim Tae-hyung said, "The opposing pitcher's pitches were good yesterday, so today I want to observe first. His timing on fastballs is significantly delayed, so he seems to be trying to adjust his point forward."

He further emphasized, "If you keep your point too far forward and try to swing hastily, you'll make absurd swings at breaking balls. The more that happens, the more you need to hold your ground and hit."

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*This content was translated by AI.