In the end, the Nakdong River flowed to Lotte…Lotte, Park Se-woong ‘QS+’ sparks…11-1 innings series win over NC

‘In the end, the Nakdong River flowed to Lotte’

The Lotte Giants turned the tide of the Nakdong River back to Busan by wrapping up their three-game home series against the NC Dinos in the ‘Nakdong River Derby’ with two wins and one loss. Lotte avenged the previous day’s loss to NC and recorded its second consecutive winning series against NC this season. Park Se-woong, Lotte’s “native ace,” pitched his best game of the season to earn his second win of the season and bring joy to the home fans.

Lotte won the sixth game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against NC 11-1 at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on Friday. Lotte completed a three-game home series against NC with a 2-1 record to sweep the series. LOTTE swept NC behind seven scoreless innings of flawless pitching from starter Park Se-woong and a focused offense from the bats토토사이트.

Lotte Giants outfielder Ahn Kwon-soo stole second base in the first inning against the NC Dinos at Sajik Stadium in Busan on May 25. Courtesy of the Lotte Giants

The Giants opened the scoring in the first inning and took control of the game. In the first inning, leadoff hitter Kim Min-seok drew a walk and No. 2 hitter Ahn Kwon-soo singled up the middle to put runners on second and third with no outs. Jeon Jun-woo hit an infield single to the right of the second baseman, bringing home Kim Min-seok from third. Ahn Chi-hong followed with an outfield single to give Lotte a 2-0 lead.

Lotte’s offense didn’t stop there. They added a run in the second inning using “Operation Baseball. With runners on first and third, Park Seung-wook and Ko Seung-min doubled to make it 3-0.

Lotte Giants catcher Lee Jung-geun hit a two-run single in the third inning of their home game against the NC Dinos on May 25. Courtesy of the Lotte Giants

Lotte scored five runs in the third inning to put the game out of reach. Back-to-back singles by Ahn Chi-hong and Han Dong-hee and a walk by Noh Jin-hyuk loaded the bases with no outs. Lotte added one more run on a push single by Ko Seung-min. Lee Jung-geun, who started as the eighth hitter and catcher on the day, drove in the go-ahead run with a huge two-run double to left-center field. Lotte added two more runs in the third inning on an infield grounder and an outfield sacrifice fly. LOTTE added one and two more runs in the fifth and eighth innings, respectively, to extend its lead to 11-0.

Lotte Giants pitcher Park Se-woong pitched seven scoreless innings to earn his second win of the season against the NC Dinos at Sajik Stadium in Busan on May 25. Courtesy of the Lotte Giants

LOTTE starter Park Se-woong pitched his best game of the season, backed by strong offensive support from the bats early in the game. Park touched 150 kilometers per hour on his fastball in the game, showing that he is definitely back in form. Park has now won two straight games following his first win of the season against SSG on April 19.

Park started the game well, retiring the NC 1-2-3 batters in the first inning on nine pitches. Park used his 150-kilometer-per-hour fastball, curve, slider, and fork to cook the NC lineup. Park conserved his pitches in the second and third innings with nine and 18 pitches, respectively. Park got three outs with nine pitches in the fourth and eight in the fifth, raising expectations for a complete game victory.

Lotte Giants pitcher Park Se-woong pitched seven scoreless innings to earn his second win of the season against the NC Dinos at Sajik Stadium in Busan on May 25. Courtesy of the Lotte Giants

Park looked shaky in the sixth inning when his pitch count spiked. Park worked an 11-pitch at-bat against NC’s No. 1 hitter Son As-seob, but a throwing error by shortstop Noh Jin-hyuk allowed the run to score. Park then gave up a single to Park Min-woo to put runners on the corners, but he got the next batter to ground out to end the threat. Park retired the next four NC batters in the seventh inning. Park earned his second win of the season with a “Quality Start Plus” (7 innings, 3 earned runs or less), allowing 2 runs on 7 hits and striking out 8.

Lotte gave up one run to NC in the eighth inning, but did not allow any additional runs and finished the game with an 11-1 victory.