Expecting a victory was a luxury as they threw 11 wild pitches. Lotte has fallen into a five-game losing streak.

The Lotte Giants fell 2-9 against the NC Dinos in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Changwon NC Park on Saturday.

Lotte’s mood had already sunk the previous day (25th) when they lost a 6-9 reverse in 11 extra innings against Sajik LG. The damage was compounded by the fact that they blew a 5-0 lead. The bullpen struggled, with closer Kim Won-joong blowing a blown save in the top of the ninth inning, and Lotte ultimately failed to escape the losing streak.

Lotte is in a “total mess”. With veteran right-hander Kim Sang-soo on the disabled list, the bullpen is thin and the batting order has been slumping.

Lotte started Park Se-woong in the first game of the three-game weekend series against NC, but the right-hander struggled with his pitches, throwing six wild pitches, including two balls that hit Park Gun-woo in the body. In the bottom of the third inning, Park threw a 146-kilometer-per-hour fastball to Park, but it hit Park’s right wrist, and Park had to be rushed to the hospital by ambulance after complaining of pain. “Park was examined at a nearby hospital and was diagnosed with a suspected right wrist fracture,” an NC official said.

After failing to manage his pitch count, Park Se-woong fought a 12-pitch battle with leadoff hitter Park Min-woo in the bottom of the fifth inning and eventually gave up a walk. With his pitch count up to 108, Park made contact with Han Hyun-hee with runners on first and second. Han gave up a single to left to Kim Sung-wook, but he held on for a scoreless sixth inning and was replaced by Jin Hae-su in the bottom of the seventh with the score tied at 2-2.

Jin Hae-su got off to a shaky start, allowing a leadoff single to 안전놀이터 Kim Joo-won. He struck out Park Min-woo on three pitches, but then looked shaky as he gave up a wild pitch to Park Si-won at the plate and a straight-up walk to Park. The pitcher who came in with runners on first and second was Koo Seung-min. Working under pressure, Koo gave up a hard-hit ball to Kim Sung-wook to load the bases and eventually gave up a two-run single to Matt Davidson to give up a 2-4 lead. In the end, it was Hwak-geun who gave up the go-ahead run on three wild pitches.

Lotte sent right-handed fireballer Lee Min-seok to the mound in the bottom of the eighth, but he gave up a straight fly ball to leadoff hitter Do Tae-hoon, sending the Lotte bench into a tailspin. The pitcher was quickly replaced by Choi Yi-joon, but the tide had already turned in favor of NC. Choi gave up a three-run homer to Kim Sung-wook in left center, followed by a solo shot to Davidson in left center to give NC the lead and put their heads down.

Before the game, Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung said, “I’d rather get hit and lose cleanly, but giving up walks lengthens the inning. Once you give up a walk, it’s hard for the next pitcher to throw well.” He wanted his pitchers to be aggressive, but it was hard to find a pitcher who did just that.

On the day, Lotte pitchers allowed 11 walks (six by Park Se-woong, one by Han Hyun-hee, two by Jin Hae-soo, one by Koo Seung-min, and one by Lee Min-seok). They struck out fewer batters (nine). This is the reason why Lotte fell into a five-game losing streak. If Lotte’s pitchers continue to overuse the ball, their chances of getting out of the losing streak will only get worse.