It was perfect until the third inning… Na Kyun-an, who dreams of revival, had mixed hopes and hardships in his first appearance of the season

Mar 27, 2025

KBO League SSG and Lotte match held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 27th. Lotte starter Na Kyun-an, who is surprised by Son Ho-young's stellar defense in the bottom of the third inning. Incheon = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.03.27/

KBO League SSG and Lotte match held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 27th. Lotte starter Na Kyun-an, who is being replaced in the 5th inning. Incheon = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.03.27/

The revival has yet to take place. Still, I saw hope.

Lotte Giants' Na Kyun-an made an impressive pitch in his first appearance of the season. It was a pity that he couldn't play a long inning, but he showed the convenience of the day 'scratching'.

Na Kyun-an started Game 3 of the Weekday Series against SSG at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 27th and was replaced after allowing four hits and three walks in four ⅔ innings.

Perhaps due to the sluggishness at the beginning of the season or the shaking of four or five times, the replacement was made faster than usual. It was a disappointing finish considering the perfect pitching up to the third inning.

Na Kyun-an suffered repeated rumors last year due to her personal history. In particular, Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung was furious as he was spotted drinking early in the morning on the day of the starting lineup in June. Criticism was inevitable due to the turbulence of allowing eight runs without completing two innings on the day.

The club was suspended for reasons of lack of professionalism and negligence of self-management. After completing the disciplinary action, he devoted himself to the bullpen. However, he had his worst year since turning to a pitcher with an 8.51 ERA.

However, during the spring camp and exhibition games, coach Kim Tae-hyung gave good marks to Na Kyun-an's ball control and game management ability. Instead of Park Jin, who was originally competing for the fifth starter, he decided to give trust to Na Kyun-an once more.

The KBO League SSG and Lotte match will be held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 25th. Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung is demonstrating his batting directly to the players. Incheon = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.03.25/

Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung, whom I met before the game, said "If you feel the same way, it would be good if Na Kyun-an threw a great 7th inning." be in one's imagination"After laughing, it's important how long the innings are dragged." I hope you don't falter and show your pace even if you give it to me when you give me a score."

First of all, it's half a success. He showed good performance as a master of folk ball and a next-generation starting pitcher. But he failed to take the long innings.

Starting with a three-way exit in the first inning, Na Kyun-an tied the SSG lineup to 'Perfect' until the third inning. Lotte's batters took the lead by scoring one run each in the third and fourth innings.

The fourth inning was the problem. Na Kyun-an faced his first crisis by giving up a hit to leadoff hitter Jihoon Choi and a walk to Park Sung-han after one out. Herredia and Han Yu-sum's consecutive hits quickly tied the score at 2-2.

If it were last year, it might have collapsed as it was. But I caught Sussoro. With one out and runners on the first and third bases, he struck out Ha Jae-hoon and Ko Myung-jun one after another.

KBO League SSG and Lotte match held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 27th. Lotte's Na Kyun-an pitching as a starter. Incheon = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.03.27/

In the fifth inning, he gave up an infield hit to leadoff hitter Park Ji-hwan and a walk to Park Sung-han after two outs. The number of pitches is 86. Lotte Bench decided to replace it. There were no additional runs as Kim Kang-hyun, who followed, struck out Herredia with a swing and miss.

He used up to a maximum speed of 148 km fastballs, 40 fork balls, 13 cut fastballs, and 1 curve. He was impressive when he used his strengths, fork balls and cut fast balls. He also had six strikeouts.

This season, the team and the head coach will be in a hurry. Manager Kim Tae-hyung said, `The situation is similar to last year. The lineup is not good in the beginning, and neither is the bullpen. Regardless of his ability, he lacks the ability to read the flow of the game and know how to fight." "Expectations are meaningless. We have to produce results," he stressed. Will Na Kyun-an get the next chance.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.