ERA 18.00: Lotte’s second-year rookie delivers a three-inning scoreless outing, brightening Manager Kim Tae-hyung’s day despite the foreign pitcher’s injury and a shutout loss — “He has good stuff” [Suwon on-site report]

*This content was translated by AI.

Lotte Giants Manager Kim Tae-hyung (59) smiled at rookie Kim Tae-gyun’s (20) impressive pitching performance.

On the 4th, Lotte announced its starting lineup for the away game against the KT Wiz in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season, scheduled to be held at Suwon KT Wiz Park.

Lotte’s batting order was set as Hwang Seong-bin (center fielder) – Na Seung-yeop (first baseman) – Victor Reyes (designated hitter) – Han Dong-hee (third baseman) – Go Seung-min (second baseman) – Jeon Min-jae (shortstop) – Son Seong-bin (catcher) – Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder) – Jo Se-jin (left fielder). The starting pitcher was Na Gyun-an.

In response, KT set its starting lineup as Choi Won-jun (center fielder) – Kim Hyun-soo (first baseman) – Ahn Hyeon-min (right fielder) – Sam Hilliard (left fielder) – Jang Seong-woo (designated hitter) – Kim Sang-su (second baseman) – Heo Kyung-min (third baseman) – Han Seung-taek (catcher) – Jang Jun-won (shortstop). The starting pitcher was Bae Je-seong.

Prior to the game, Jeremy Viselli, who started on the previous day (the 3rd), was removed from the first division roster. Viselli took an eighth loss of the season (10 wins) against KT, allowing four runs in three innings with five hits allowed and three walks or hit-by-pitches (two walks and one hit by pitch), while recording two strikeouts. Consequently, Lotte will have to finish the remaining season without a foreign pitcher.

Manager Kim Tae-hyung expressed regret regarding Viselli, stating, “I haven’t received any specific reports today. It doesn’t seem like he’ll be in a situation to appear in upcoming games, so I told them to send him back to Busan. He had pain while covering bases in the past, and it seems that hurt again yesterday.”

Rookie Kim Han-gyeol (20) will fill the vacancy. Kim Han-gyeol is a right-handed pitcher who has recorded a 9.00 ERA with one win and one loss in seven games this year. Along with Kim Tae-gyun, he will take over the spots of the foreign pitchers for the remainder of the season and receive starting opportunities.

The previous day, Lotte suffered a 0-5 shutout loss, surrendering a nine-inning complete game victory to Go Yeong-pyo. Amidst this, Kim Tae-gyun’s pitching was a source of comfort as he came on in place of Viselli and held the line for three innings with three hits allowed, no walks or hit-by-pitches, one strikeout, and no runs allowed.

Manager Kim Tae-hyung also praised him, saying, “He needs to know how to throw his pitches without that kind of burden. He probably felt more regret about his previous start (at Sajik). In any situation, he must throw pitches he can accept in order to develop. If he can’t throw his own pitches, he will be disappointed with himself. He has good stuff. He has the repertoire to pitch as a starter. His curveball is good, but he didn’t use it much yesterday.”

For Lotte, which has been eliminated from the postseason race, Hwang Seong-bin’s stolen base title and Victor Reyes’ hit race are among the few remaining attractions. As of before the game, Hwang Seong-bin leads with 53 stolen bases, three ahead of second-place Park Min-woo (NC Dinos). Reyes currently holds a .356 batting average (195 hits in 548 at-bats) in 136 games, competing for the batting title and most hits lead against Choi Won-jun (KT), who has a .351 batting average (195 hits in 555 at-bats).

Regarding the possibility of Reyes leading off, Manager Kim Tae-hyung said, “Whether it’s Reyes or (Hwang) Seong-bin, he needs to hit well and run when he gets on base,” while adding, “Since the opposing pitcher is a left-hander tomorrow, I think we can put him in the leadoff spot. It might also be good to slot Reyes and Hwang Seong-bin in the 1st and 2nd spots.”

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*This content was translated by AI.