He's in third place, but he's in a state of emergency → He's upset even though he's winning...There's a hole in the starting lineup.

May 11, 2025

Coach Kim Tae-hyung watching the players train. Song Jeong-heon, reporter song@sportschosun.com

롯데 나균안. Song Jeong-heon, reporter song@sportschosun.com

He's won 3 games in a row, 7 wins and 3 losses in 10 games. He is winning, but the head coach's inner mind is not as bright as it is.

Lotte Giants starters are shaking out of control. Park Se-woong is running toward career high, and Davison, a new foreigner, is also doing well, but the other three spots are a mess.

Na Gyun, who has a lot of experience in selection and has not had a bad pace recently, collapsed. Na Kyun-an collapsed in the KT Wiz match on the 10th, allowing eight hits, one walk, and five runs in three innings.

Although there was a two-day break thanks to rain earlier, it is difficult for the team to operate the bullpen easily. However, Na Kyun-an's number of pitches had already reached 71 by the third inning. He gave up three runs from the first inning, and the batters turned it over 4-3 in the top of the third inning, but he allowed Ahn Hyun-min and Jang Sung-woo to hit a home run right after the bottom of the third inning, allowing a 4-5 comeback. It was hard to drag any more.

Still, he turned the game around 8-5 and won the victory. The bullpen, including winning pitcher Kim Kang-hyun (one ⅔ scoreless inning), who supported Na Kyun-an, held out well without losing a point. The back door of Jung Chul-won and Kim Won-joong also blocked the opponent's batters well.

On the one hand, the batting average of the first and second place in the team OPS was strong. Son Ho-young, who was sluggish, is gradually recovering her skills, and Yoon Dong-hee succeeded in a soft landing in the leadoff position without Hwang Sung-bin. Yoo Kang-nam has shown off his best batting pace since joining Lotte.

A game between the Kiwoom Heroes and the Lotte Giants at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 30th. Lotte Yoo Kang-nam is cheering after hitting a hit. Gocheok = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.04.30/

However, if the starting pitcher collapses, the burden on the bullpen will inevitably increase. For Lotte, which is already suffering from a bullpen overload, it became another game that consumed the bullpen on a large scale.

Na Kyun-an is a player who has not been especially lucky this season. He lost only one game in two quality starts (more than six innings and less than three earned runs), and he failed to win in games that lasted more than five innings well. Thanks to Na Kyun-an's support, head coach Kim Tae-hyung said, `I'm sorry I couldn't give you a win" has told the truth.

Lotte's ace Barnes is out due to an injury and fourth starter Kim Jin-wook is out due to a slump. Here, the Na Gyun collapsed. A position to hope that alternative starters such as Lee Min-seok and Park Jin will cheer up.

The head coach has no choice but to burn his stomach. A short-term foreign player, or Barnes, who has been sidelined by eight weeks of injury, is in desperate need of a complete replacement.