‘The crowd is full, but the batting line is only 1 point’ Hanwha-Lotte
Hanwha and Lotte, which are considered popular professional baseball teams, both lost at home. It was a game that fully reflected the reality that the team was at the bottom in terms of scoring.
Hanwha lost 1 to 7 in the home game against Kiwoom in the '2024 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League' held at Hanwha Life Insurance Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 11th. Kiwoom escaped its recent seven-game losing streak.
On this day, Hanwha's batting lineup was held scoreless until the 6th inning by Kiwoom starter Enmanuel de Jesus. He was lethargic, getting 3 hits, 2 walks, and striking out 3. In the bottom of the 9th inning, Ahn Chi-hong's 1-run home run (2nd of the season) narrowly avoided a loss.
Rookie Hwang Jun-seo, a large left-hander, took the mound this day, but was shaken due to poor ball control. He got over the crisis with 2 outs and 3rd base in the 1st inning and 2 outs and bases loaded in the 2nd inning, but could not get past the 3rd inning. After giving up two walks in the third inning, Hwang Jun-seo was hit by a timely hit from Ko Young-woo, and after sending out Kim Hwi-jip with a body-hit ball, he gave up an additional run when Lee Won-seok hit an infield hit. Hwang Jun-seo eliminated 6 hits from Samin in 4 innings, but gave up 5 walks and hits and 2 runs.
Hanwha was unable to maintain the momentum of Jonathan Peraza's walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning the previous day. This is the poorest performance among the 10 clubs along with Kiwoom, who was on a 7-game losing streak with 3 wins and 7 losses in the last 10 games. This year, 18 of the 19 home games were sold out (12,000 fans), failing to live up to the expectations of the fans.
This season, Hanwha is at the bottom with a team batting average of .253. Lotte is the only team with fewer team runs (average 4.77 points) and home runs (30) than Hanwha. Hanwha ranks 8th with a team earned run average (ERA) of 5.44, but the slump in its batting lineup is more serious.
Lotte also lost 1 to 2 in its home game against LG held at Sajik Stadium in Busan. After winning 5 games in a row, they lost 2 games in a row, and LG had a 4 game winning streak.
On this day, Lotte starting pitcher Aaron Wilkerson pitched well. He pitched more than a quality start (3 earned runs in 6 innings) with 6 strikeouts and 2 runs in 6 innings.
However, the batting line did not use its strength. Lotte remained scoreless with LG starter Son Joo-young striking out seven through the sixth inning.
There was a chance. In the bottom of the third inning, Lotte reached first and second base with no outs thanks to consecutive hits by Lee Hak-ju and Yoon Dong-hee. However, No. 2 Ko Seung-min hit a double play and No. 3 Victor Reyes hit a ground ball to third base, throwing away the opportunity to score first. Even in the bottom of the 5th inning when they were down 0-1, there was an opportunity to score with one out and runners on second base, but Lee Hak-ju and Yoon Dong-hee struck out in succession. In the 7th inning, when the team was down 0-2, leadoff hitter Jeong Hoon hit a double, but there was no follow-up hit.
Episode 8 was the most disappointing. After Lotte's lead hitter Yoon Dong-hee's hit, Ko Seung-min hit a ball that hit the right wall. Ko Seung-min ran all the way to second base, but the hard ball hit the fence and rolled quickly, and LG right fielder Hong Chang-ki's escorted ball led to his death.
With one out and runners on 1st and 3rd base, Jeon Jun-woo scored a timely hit to left against LG's closer Yoo Young-chan, earning one point. However, pinch hitter Kim Min-seok hit a fly ball to center field and Yoo Kang-nam hit an infield grounder.
Lotte only scored 1 point despite getting 8 hits and 3 walks that day. LG also won despite only scoring 2 points despite 12 hits and 5 walks. Lotte ranks 6th in team batting average this season (2.771 li), but ranks last in scoring range (2.04 rp.). The team's home runs (26) and runs scored (average 4.6 points) are also last.
They were unable to maintain the momentum of their 5th consecutive win in front of a packed crowd of nearly 23,000 people. Lotte won 3 of its 5 consecutive wins against Kiwoom (1 win) and Hanwha (2 wins), which are in the bottom tier. Although they achieved an 18-5 victory over Hanwha, they lost concentration in a close game with a 1-point difference.
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