Coach Larry Sutton’s ‘surprise’ card by Han Hyun-hee in the bullpen turned into a major failure.

Lotte took a knee in the first game of the week after losing 2-5 in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League away match between KT Wiz and the team at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 20th in the 10th game of the season.메이저놀이터

Lotte’s recent flow is very bad with 3 wins and 9 losses. In the home match against KT held on the 6th and 8th at Sajik Stadium in Busan, they suffered a ‘sweep loss’ and then suffered a ‘losing series’ against Samsung Lions, Hanwha Eagles, and SSG Landers. So far, they are running in 4th place to get a ticket to the post season, but it is not a situation that can be relieved.

Prior to the game on the 20th, Lotte called Lee In-bok, who underwent an off-season surgery on a bone fragment in his right elbow, to the first team. It wasn’t a ‘call-up’, but it was for a ‘accompany’. As Lee In-bok has been preparing for the season as a starting pitcher in the 2nd team, there is a high possibility of digesting the starting rotation if he is registered in the 1st team. Then, among Dan Strayley, Charlie Barnes, Park Se-woong, Na Kyun-an, and Han Hyun-hee, one had no choice but to move his position.

Prior to the game on the 20th, head coach Larry Sutton asked about the timing and position of Lee In-bok’s call-up, saying, “We continue to talk about Lee In-bok’s position. As you can see, we are training with the team today (20th). Regarding the position, I think I will be able to give an answer tomorrow (21st).”

Lotte played well from the beginning of the game. Koh Seung-min hit a solo home run in the top of the 3rd inning that broke the 0-0 trend, and in the 5th inning, lead hitter Yoo Kang-nam walked and took advantage of the opponent’s error to take a 2-0 lead. Dan Strayley, who had regrets in the last two appearances, also sent a runner out every inning, and was particularly in danger of conceding three runs, but he struck out eight and obtained the requirements for cruising and winning.

While the game was going well, coach Sutton brought out an unexpected option. Strayley, who had plenty of pitches, was beaten with 84 pitches until the 5th inning, and Han Hyun-hee, who had been in the starting rotation until recently, was put on the mound from the 6th inning. The reason why Strayley was taken off the mound was to arrange his stamina in consideration of appearing twice a week because he has to play in the game on Sunday (25th).

Han Hyun-hee is a pitcher with excellent bullpen experience, enough to harvest 105 holds in the KBO league. However, no one expected that he would change his position from the 20th. This is because when director Sutton was asked about Lee In-bok, he did not say anything about his position. However, Han Hyun-hee’s bullpen card, which manager Sutton ‘surprised’, was a major failure.

Han Hyun-hee took the mound in the bottom of the 6th inning, leading 2-0, and at the same time gave a walk to lead batter Park Byung-ho, ending an uneasy start. And as Seong-Woo Jang took a hit at the right time, he was put into danger on the 1st and 2nd bases. In the end, Han Hyun-hee could not escape this crisis. Han Hyun-hee was attacked with a 145km fastball by Lee Ho-yeon, the follow-up hitter, and hit a timely hit with an RBI heading to the middle right through the second baseman.

Han Hyun-hee’s uneasy pitching continued. Han Hyun-hee succeeded in inducing the second baseman grounder to Hwang Jae-gyun in the continuing 1st and 3rd base. However, this hit did not lead to a double hit, and one out count and one point were exchanged. Afterwards, Han Hyun-hee seemed to take a breather by catching Bae Jeong-dae with a floating ball in left field, but after being hit by Jang Jun-won, he threw a ball at the first pitch while playing with Kim Min-hyuk, and then went down the mound in a crisis at 1st and 2nd base.

Lotte put Kim Jin-wook in place of Han Hyun-hee to put out the urgent fire. However, the second card did not work as Kim Jin-wook allowed Kim Min-hyeok to hit at the right time. Still, Kim Jin-wook struck out the follow-up hitter Jang Joon-yeong and did not concede any more runs. However, Lotte gave up two more points at the end of the 8th inning, and eventually fell to its knees at 2-5, unable to create a tie or reverse until the end of the game.