Lotte's fifth consecutive loss of manager's anger escapes, and Samsung's 1G 1st round of fierce pursuit...KIA's fifth-round match is going out.
Sep 11, 2025
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Lotte won 4-3 against the KIA Tigers in the '2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League' held at Gwangju Kia Champions Field on the 11th. Lotte, ranked sixth, continued its hope for fall baseball with 63 wins, 6 draws, and 64 losses in the season. KIA, ranked eighth, had 59 wins, 4 draws, and 65 losses in the season, which made the possibility of reaching the 5th round even lower.
Lotte made the starting lineup with Hwang Sung-bin (center fielder), Ko Seung-min (second baseman), Na Seung-yeop (first baseman), Victor Reyes (left fielder), Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Son Ho-young (third baseman), Park Chan-hyung (designated hitter), Jeon Min-jae (striker) and Information-geun (catcher). The starting pitcher is Na Kyun An.
KIA faced off with Yoon Do-hyun (third baseman), Park Chan-ho (striker), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Choi Hyung-woo (designated hitter), Na Sung-bum (right wing), Oh Sun-woo (first baseman), Kim Seok-hwan (left wing), Kim Tae-gun (possession), and Kim Ho-ryeong (middle fielder). The starting pitcher is Kim Do-hyun.
Lotte took the lead with starting pitcher Na Kyun-an hitting five hits (one home run) in four innings, two walks, three strikeouts and three runs, and went down the mound early. Jung Chul-won (1 inning), Jung Hyun-soo (1 inning), Choi Jun-yong (1 ⅔ inning), and Kim Won-joong (1 ⅓ inning) kept the victory by throwing scoreless.
KIA faced an unexpected variable in which starting pitcher Kim Do-hyun was forced to leave early after one run in one inning due to elbow pain. Kim Tae-hyung, who quickly took over the ball, struggled with two runs in four innings, but it was not enough to prevent the loss. The losing pitcher is Choi Ji-min (one run in one inning).
Lotte struggled to escape the losing streak. On the 10th, he had to quickly erase the shock of the 0-13 defeat after a rough game in which he poured out five errors against the Hanwha Eagles in Busan. It was possible to move quickly for the away game in Gwangju to relieve fatigue, but all Lotte players were literally 'emergency', conducting 30 minutes of night defense training under the direction of Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung.
Regarding the unusual order for night training, coach Kim said "Yesterday (10th) would be a hindrance to today's game if we let it go as it is. By training again really simply, I wanted them to find psychological stability. In fact, pitchers are not able to get zero points once in a while, so if they give them consecutive walks and come down, they make them throw a little more from the bullpen. This is because if you come down and icing and just move on, and take the mound in the next game, there are still afterimages. It can be seen as similar to that context. It was a training exercise meant to be confident once again. In a way, it's like having a director meeting."
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Lotte started off in a good mood with a triple-fat record with different concentration from the previous day. Na Kyun-an was on the verge of first and second bases with no outs due to Yoon Do-hyun's double and Park Chan-ho's walk in the bottom of the first inning, and Kim Sun-bin's ball headed straight to the third baseman. The third baseman, second baseman, and first baseman continued to throw smoothly, resulting in a triple play. It was Lotte's 10th career and second this year after the match against NC on the 23rd of last month.
In the top of the third inning, he shook KIA rookie Kim Tae-hyung, who was good at preventing the crisis, instead of Kim Do-hyun. Ko Seung-min's hit and Na Seung-yeop's walk gave him a chance to get first and second bases with two outs. Yoon Dong-hee and Son Ho-young showed concentration in hitting timely hits in succession, leading to a 3-0 run.
Na Kyun-an failed to cross the wall of veteran Choi Hyung-woo in the bottom of the fourth inning. With Park Chan-ho's hit and Kim Sun-bin's four pitches, the first and second bases with no outs. The match with Choi Hyung-woo was important, and a 144km/h fastball headed to the middle at the ball count of 2B1S. Choi Hyung-woo did not miss it and connected with a superior three-point shot. Season 22nd shot. It was also the moment when he achieved his 11th career home run against the former team.
In the top of the sixth inning, Ko Seung-min regained the lead with difficulty. KIA posted left-hander Choi Ji-min. When Information Geun picked a walk after one out, pinch runner Jang Doo-sung was used. In the next Hwang Sung-bin at-bat, he used Jeong Hoon as a pinch hitter. Jang Doo-sung stole second base in Jung Hoon's at-bat, and Ko Seung-min hit a timely hit to the right with two outs and second base to lead 4-3.
The bottom of the eighth inning was the last hurdle. When Choi Jun-yong walked Park Chan-ho after two outs, Lotte quickly put Kim Won-joong in. When facing Kim Won-joong, the first batter, Kim Sun-bin, he balked and sent Park Chan-ho to second base, and even Kim Sun-bin walked, putting him in crisis. The match with Choi Hyung-woo, with two outs and runners on the first and second bases, was important, but he broke KIA's last-minute willingness to turn it around by turning it to a ground ball to shortstop.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
