It’s May, and it’s ‘top’.
The Lotte Giants won 7-4 against the KIA Tigers in the ‘2023 KBO League’ held at KIA Champions Field in Gwangju on the 2nd, and achieved 9 consecutive wins in 15 years.
Leadoff Kim Min-seok did his part with 3 hits and 2 points in 5 at-bats. Han Dong-hee added strength with 2 hits and 2 RBIs in 4 at-bats. Starter Park Se-woong, who had not won in the previous four starts, received support for scoring, but went down with one outcount to the winning pitcher requirement.
Park Se-woong (4.2 innings, 3 runs) failed to complete 5 innings, but the Lotte bullpen, the driving force behind the uptrend, was solid as well. Following Pil Seung-jo, including Kim Jin-wook, Choi Jun-yong, Kim Sang-su, and Koo Seung-min, Kim Won-joong, who finished the game, blocked the KIA lineup with one run and completed a 9-game winning streak. It is the 9th consecutive victory reached in 15 years since 2008 when coach Jerry Royster led.
Lotte, which always shines and fades at the beginning of the season, is a team with an unpleasant nickname of ‘Bomde’ amid the sarcastic remarks that it is only good in spring.
Last season, Lotte recorded 14 wins, 1 draw and 9 losses (0.609 win rate) in April, ranking second after SSG (19 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses). In terms of the number of wins, it is the same as this year. In May, they fell to the bottom of the table without even winning 10 games. The sudden sluggishness of Geopo Han Dong-hee and injuries to key players led to a sharp weakening of power. Once again, the word ‘Bomde’ was heard here and there, and eventually finished the season in 8th place.
This year, even though it is May, it ranks first. Indeed, the current Lotte is having a lie-like time.
Based on the digestion of more than 10 games since the opening, it has been leading alone in about 4000 days since July 7, 2012 (then digested 72 games). It is the sole 1st place that spread the ride with 2nd place SSG Landers by 1 game. Of course, we played one game in the schedule in May, but it is significant that we won a complete victory against a team that is on the rise.
Lotte coach Larry Sutton said, “It was unstable at the beginning of the season, but now the balance between offense and defense has been perfectly achieved. I think it will be different this time. The players feel that way too,” showing a strong will to remove the label of ‘Bomde’.
If you sweep all the remaining two consecutive matches against KIA, you will reach the club’s most consecutive wins record (11 consecutive wins) recorded in 2008. First of all, expectations for a 10-game winning streak are rising because Na Kyun-an was selected for the KIA match on the 3rd. At this point, the starting pitcher risk, which is considered Lotte’s weakness, 스포츠토토 can be significantly reduced on this day.
Na Kyun-an has appeared in 5 games this season and is recording an ace level record with 4 wins and an ERA of 1.34 (5 earned runs in 33.2 innings). He is at the forefront of various indicators such as wins, innings, earned run average, strikeouts, and quality start plus. This is a performance that is not enviable by Ahn Woo-jin (Kiwoom), who won the pitcher’s 2nd crown last season. The power of the four-seam fastball has become stronger with the addition of the curveball, and the forkball and cutter are also excellent. He is expected to be a starting pitcher who can play an active role in the Asian Games national team beyond Lotte.
Attention is focusing on whether Lotte, who is having a lie-like time, will be able to achieve 10 consecutive victories with Na Kyun-an at the fore.
