“Ranked first in blown leads after the 7th inning”: The reason NC’s shaky bullpen is expected to “definitely improve next year” [Jamsil on-site report]

*This content was translated by AI.

Despite leading through seven innings, the team allowed 13 losses. It recorded a staggering 30 blown saves. This was the reason the NC Dinos could not write another miracle for two consecutive years. Manager Lee Ho-jun (50) of the NC identified the instability of the bullpen as the cause.

Ahead of the away game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 1st, which is part of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League, Manager Lee Ho-jun met with reporters and offered an overall assessment of the team’s failure to reach the postseason, stating, “Our lack of late-game endurance was the biggest factor.”

Last season, NC surged on a nine-game winning streak at the end of the regular season, jumping from 7th to 5th place to catch the last train to the postseason by a half-game margin. However, this season, they had to bow their heads in disappointment.

Along with the late-season winning streak, NC narrowed the gap with Doosan to two games on the 12th. With three head-to-head matchups remaining against Doosan, there was hope for an upset, but the team collapsed on its own by falling into an eight-game losing streak afterward.

The instability of the bullpen was the biggest cause. Manager Lee Ho-jun said, “Compared to last year, our starting pitchers pitched well, but there were many concerns about the bullpen in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings. We kept trying to come up with countermeasures, but it is most regrettable that things did not work out.”

NC’s team ERA this season was 4.71, ranking 5th, but the bullpen’s ERA was 5.19, placing 7th. In particular, the simultaneous slump of pitchers who were trusted as key relievers was painful. In the 68th games where NC led through seven innings, their win rate was 0.803 (53 wins, 13 losses, 2 draws), the worst in the league. This resulted in 30 blown saves. They suffered 10 more losses than the KT Wiz, who lead this category with a record of 71 wins and 3 losses (2 draws) and a win rate of 0.959.

Even looking at the game the previous day, where their postseason bid was officially eliminated, NC led consistently after the 5th inning but suffered a fatal blow by allowing one run in the 8th and three runs in the 9th. Jeon Sa-min (2 earned runs in two-thirds of an inning) and Son Ju-hwan (1 earned run in no innings) wavered, and Shin Young-woo, who entered with one out and runners on second and third bases, allowed a go-ahead infield hit, forcing the team to bow its head.

These were the pitchers NC trusted most this season, yet their ERAs ranged from 4 to 5, and some even reached the 6th-point range. The comfort was that Shin Young-woo (2.37) and Lee Jun-hyuk (2.87) emerged as key resources toward the end of the season.

Despite this, Manager Lee emphasized patience. “Last year, many of our winning-pitching staff members, including Bae Jae-hwan, Kim Young-gyu, Kim Jin-ho, Jeon Sa-min, and Ryu Jin-wook, took on roles they had never handled before for the first time in a year. As they entered their second year in those roles, they thought more deeply and felt more pressure,” he said. “The conclusion we reached is that these players still need more experience. We judged that we needed to wait a little longer. That process was truly difficult.”

For the team’s future, these are ultimately the players who must settle into their roles, just as they did last year. While this season’s results were painful, it is described as growing pains that must be endured for a better future.

Manager Lee stated, “If these players fail and we change something again here, considering that they had good experiences and produced results over the past year, I thought we should push forward, which led to such outcomes.” However, he added, “Failure is not bad; rather, failure becomes data for these players. It was good last year, but this year produced different results, and they must have felt a lot, so next year is even more anticipated.”

He continued, “(Lee) Yong-jun, (Son) Ju-hwan, and (Lee) Jun-hyuk have newly joined the winning-pitching staff. I think that if these players and the injured ones return next year, the lead-losing defeats in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings that repeated this season will be resolved.” He expressed optimism, saying, “They are not players who have recorded 30 holds and 30 saves every year, so it became good data, and I believe things will definitely improve next year.”

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*This content was translated by AI.