It was a moment that could have become a nightmare in the situation of the bullpen, where anyone came out. However, with the experience of a 36-year-old veteran, he woke up from a nightmare and filled the hole in Pilseungjo. Shin Jeong-rak (36) of the Lotte Giants managed to온라인바카라 clear up the chaotic situation and became the winning pitcher.
In the match against the LG Twins held at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 11th, Lotte won a new 6-5 victory. After a bloody battle in the rain, Lotte ran the first two consecutive wins of the season.
It was a crisis throughout the game. Starter Charlie Barnes gave up 4 runs with 6 hits, 6 walks and 3 strikeouts in 4⅓ innings. From the first game of the week, the foreign starting pitcher came down the mound after less than five innings. A situation was created in which the bullpen had no choice but to become a burden.
The current situation of the Lotte bullpen is not good. Except for setup man Koo Seung-min and finisher Kim Won-joong, there is no reliable man. Lee Min-seok was out of the season due to elbow ligament joint surgery, and Choi Jun-yong, who hoped to play the role of Pil Seung-jo, is staying in the second team as he has yet to get on the right track. Young guns on the left and right, such as Kim Jin-wook, Choi Lee-joon, and Jeong Seong-jong, did not give clear trust.
At least, Kim Do-gyu and rookie Lee Tae-yeon are playing a supporting role, but they have revealed ups and downs and limitations at the same time. They have to rely on Kim Sang-soo and Shin Jeong-rak, veterans staying in the first team, but they also have to face the weight of the years.
But veterans have another weapon that other young players lack: experience. Lotte decided that this experience would come in handy someday. The reason why pitchers who were notified of release last year, such as Kim Sang-soo and Shin Jeong-rak, were called together was because they hoped that they would protect and support young pitchers. Thanks to them, it would be the icing on the cake if they could win one more.
The icing on the cake was the match on the 11th. Barnes’ early rout caused a twist in the pitching staff management. They needed pitchers to block the 5th through 7th innings, leaving Koo Seung-min and Kim Won-joong behind. In the 5th inning, trailing by 2-3, Do-gyu Kim followed Barnes on the mound, but both his pitch and position were not stable. In the end, one more point was allowed due to a defensive error, widening the gap to 2-4.
In the 6th inning, rookie Lee Tae-yeon came on the mound, but Lee Tae-yeon was unable to overcome LG-centered hitters Moon Seong-joo and Kim Hyeon-soo, and caused a crisis with 1 company, 2nd and 3rd base. There were fewer and fewer pitchers to catch out counts. In this situation, Shin Jeong-rak came up to the mound. Submarine Shin Jeong-rak appeared as a specialist to deal with foreign hitter Austin Dean and completed the mission. Inducing a foul fly by the first baseman, he made 2nd and 3rd base.
Afterwards, left-handed hitter Moon Bo-gyeong sent an automatic intentional 4th pitch and faced Min-seong Kim with the bases loaded with 2 outs. The right-handed hitter he met again was not a big hurdle for Shin Jeong-rak. In the end, even Kim Min-seong cooked with a floating ball for second baseman, blocking a crisis that could further widen the gap at 2-4. It was a place of victory.
The crisis prevented by Shin Jeong-rak turned into an opportunity for Lotte. In the bottom of the 6th inning, Noh Jin-hyeok’s 2-RBI double and an opponent’s error resulted in a massive 4-point turnaround to 6-4, and Shin Jeong-rak’s requirements for a winning pitcher were completed.
Koo Seung-min and Kim Won-jung had to throw more innings than expected, but the two players kept the team’s victory and Shin Jeong-rak’s victory by blocking 3 innings with 1 run. Shin Jeong-rak’s winning pitcher is the first in 312 days since the match against Kiwoom in Daejeon on June 3, 2022, when he belonged to Hanwha (2⅓ innings, 3 strikeouts, no runs).
At the end of last year’s season, Shin Jeong-rak was released from Hanwha, but he was called by Lotte and continued his active career, leading the team to victory. After the game, Shin Jeong-rak said, “It was a tight situation, but I went up to the mound with a comfortable mindset. I was able to deal comfortably with foreign right-handed batters while playing baseball,” he said. I think I was able to win my first win thanks to my teammates