5th place competition watershed, Lotte's starting rotation ?
Lotte Giants acting manager Lee Jong-woon announced his starting lineup for the team's eight-game home stand ahead of the team's 12th game of the season against the Hanwha Eagles of the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League on Oct. 28 at Sajik Stadium in Busan.
Lotte will play a two-game series against the Hanwha Eagles at Sajik on Oct. 28-29, followed by a four-game series with a doubleheader against the Samsung Lions on Oct. 30 and the LG Twins on Oct. 1-3. They will play an eight-game series at home during the Chuseok holiday. For Lotte, the games against the Hanwha-Samsung are crucial as the KIA Tigers and SSG Landers have faltered recently. It could put them back in the top five. 카지노사이트가이드
The problem is that they currently don't have any pitchers who are worthy of starting. Currently, Lotte is without "Glasses Ace" Park Se-woong and "April Monthly MVP" Na Kyun-ahn due to their call-ups to the Hangzhou Asian Games (AG). Aside from 'lefty' Charlie Barnes and Aaron Wilkerson, there are no other starting options. For now, Lotte is expected to use all of the players who have often been used as starters as substitutes.
Prior to his resignation on the 28th, acting manager Lee Jong-woon said, "I'm thinking about alternate starters for tomorrow (29th). It's not just one starting spot, but three. "I'm thinking of (Han) Hyun-hee, Shim Jae-min, Jung Sung-jong, and Lee In-bok as candidates," he said.
These are all players who have started this year. Han Hyun-hee started the season as a starter from the exhibition games and was in the rotation before being benched due to poor performance. She is 3-8 with a 5.45 ERA in 15 starts this year. Lee In-bok, who had surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow after his best season last year, joined the starting rotation after returning from injury, but struggled with a 3-3 record and a 6.20 ERA in five games.
For Jeong Sung-jong, his two starts this year have been polar opposites. On June 27 against the Samsung Lions, he pitched a solid four scoreless innings, but on August 12 against the KIA Tigers, he gave up six runs (five earned) in 1⅓ innings. Shim recently enjoyed his first complete game victory in over a decade in the KBO, when he pitched a no-hitter against the KIA in Gwangju due to a rainout. He has the best record as a starter this year, going 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA in three games.
He's been tight-lipped about who will start which game, but with a doubleheader scheduled, he's looking to get the most out of Barnes and Wilkerson. Lee Jong-woon is determined to give it their all in the six-game series against Hanwha and Samsung. "Our team's situation is important right now, so we can't think about other teams. I will do my best against Samsung," he emphasized.
When asked about the bullpen, Lee Jong-woon said, "I think the players will prepare themselves. It's the most important time for us. I think the players will take the initiative for the sake of the team," he said, adding, "We will give it our all in the given situation, without looking at the other team."
On the other hand, Lotte called up Jang Doo-seong to fill an empty roster spot, and the starting lineup consisted of Jeong Dae-sun (second base), Han Dong-hee (third base), Jeong Hoon (first base), Jeon Jun-woo (left field), Yoo Kang-nam (designated hitter), Nico Goodrum (shortstop), Seo Dong-wook (right field), Son Sung-bin (catcher), and Ahn Kwon-soo (center field).