It was a hard-fought victory. However, it was a game that left a lasting impression. It’s unfortunate that this has been a recurring theme lately.
The Lotte Giants won 6-5 and 1-0 against the Gochuk Kiwoom Heroes on the 27th.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Kiwoom hadn’t scored a run in 27 consecutive innings since the ninth inning against the KT Wiz in Suwon on April 24. It was a tricky batting lineup of Lee Jung-hoo, Kim Hye-sung, and Russell, but it was a six-run lead.
Barnes pitched a cool six innings of three-hit, one-walk ball. Five strikeouts were a bonus. It was a perfect game with no runners in scoring position. He even threw a strike while tripping and falling on the mound.
After Kim Do-gyu and Kim Jin-wook pitched well in the seventh and eighth innings, the ninth inning was left to rookie Jin Seung-hyun.
However, Jin gave up back-to-back hits to Kiwoom’s Lee Jung-hoo and Kim Hye-sung. He struck out Russell with an exquisite back-to-back slider, but gave up a walk to Song Sung-moon to load the bases.
Lotte sent veteran Yoon Myung-jun to the mound. Yoon roared out of the gate, striking out Kiwoom Lee Won-seok, but gave up an RBI double to rookie catcher Kim Dong-heon.
At 6-2, it was time for Kim Won-joong to come up to the mound. There wasn’t enough time to warm up. His pitches weren’t working.
He gave up a walk to Lim Ji-yeol and a double to Lim Byung-wook to cut the deficit to one run. Barnes, with his third win of the season on the line, watched the game with a nervous look on his face. Fortunately, he was able to get Lee to ground out to the pitcher to end the 메이저놀이터 game, preserving Barnes’ start, his save, and the team’s victory.
Although he only threw 14 pitches, it was the second straight start for Kim Won-joong. It will be three in a row if he starts on Aug. 28. Kiwoom’s streak of consecutive scoreless innings was also broken.
Commentator Lee Soon-cheol said, “Kim Won-joong’s appearance is not what Lotte wants. The players who are supposed to provide long relief were unable to finish cleanly, leading to Kim Won-joong.”
When Kim Won-joong also gave up one run after another, he said, “When you can’t finish a game easily, the fatigue is doubled. Even if you win, there will be after-effects.” After the game, Lotte manager Larry Sutton did not hide his frustration, saying, “We need to readjust when it comes to giving up runs in the ninth inning.”