The Lotte Giants could not do anything against the opposing team's ace. And they froze in the face of an unavoidable natural phenomenon. After a shocking defeat, Lotte is sinking into the abyss.

Lotte lost 1-3 against the KIA Tigers in the regular season game held at Busan Sajik Stadium on the 9th. As a result, Lotte has fallen into a three-game losing streak.

In the game on the 6th against Doosan, which Lotte was leading 5-0, it turned into a hard-fought contest, and although they regained a five-point lead at 12-7 in the second half, they lost it all. They ultimately suffered a 12-15 comeback defeat. All the pitchers were exhausted, and there were also excessive controversies, such as 'spreading legs during pitching.' Manager Kim Tae-hyung noted his regrets about the timing of the pitching change.

It was expected that there would be considerable repercussions, and indeed, they confirmed a losing series in the first series of the week. In the game against KIA on the 8th, Lotte was leading 2-0, and starter Kim Jin-wook was pitching a no-hitter until one out in the 6th inning, but failed to prevent a big inning and lost 4-5.

That day, there was nothing Lotte could do. The opposing pitcher was the ace James Neale, who had not allowed a run over 18 innings in three games this year. Neale's two-seam fastball, reaching a maximum speed of 151 km, and his sweeping pitch, which made batters flinch, seemed almost like a 'natural disaster.'

In the 3rd inning, with one out and runners on first and third bases, Lotte scored a run with a ground ball by RAY to the second baseman, marking the first run allowed by Neale this year and breaking his streak of 36 consecutive innings without allowing a run. However, they could do nothing in the other innings.

It was not that there were no opportunities, but they had to keep reflecting on missed chances. In the 1st inning, with two outs and runners on first and second base, Kim Min-seong's hit was caught by the shortstop. In the 3rd inning, after scoring, they created an opportunity with two outs and runners on first and third from Jeon Jun-woo's hit, but Kim Min-seong's well-hit ball could not get over the left fielder's head and was caught on the warning track, resulting in another missed scoring opportunity. Ultimately, they managed to score only one run until the 7th inning while Neale was on the mound.

Even after Neale left the game, they had opportunities but failed to capitalize on them. In the 8th inning, with two outs, they created a chance with two consecutive hits from Jeon Jun-woo and Kim Min-seong against Jo Sang-woo, but Na Seung-yeop's well-hit ball went straight to the left fielder. In the 9th inning, also against closer Jeong Hae-young, after one out, they got a left field hit from substitute Yoo Kang-nam and a right center double from Jeon Min-jae to create a chance with one out and runners on second and third bases, but Hwang Seong-bin and Ko Seung-min made outs. That day, Lotte hit 10 hits, more than KIA's 6, but left 10 runners on base.

Above all, they became powerless in the process of allowing the first run in the face of a natural phenomenon. Starter Na Gyu-an pitched a quality start with 6 innings, 6 hits (1 home run), 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, and 3 earned runs, but the process of allowing the first run was very disappointing.

In the 2nd inning, after two outs, they allowed a hit to Choi Won-jun. It seemed they would induce Kim Tae-gun into a flyout to the left fielder. However, this ball disappeared into the bluish sky at dusk. Both left fielder Jeon Jun-woo and shortstop Jeon Min-jae lost track of the ball. Ultimately, they could not find where it landed, and runner Choi Won-jun scored. Jeon Jun-woo looked at Jeon Min-jae and asked, "Did you see it?" after losing sight of the ball, and he was left dumbfounded.

On that day, Lotte hardly made any mistakes in the operation of the game. Fifth starter Na Gyu-an also pitched well, and Park Si-young, Jeong Hyun-soo, and Kim Gang-hyun combined to keep 3 innings scoreless. However, they fell into an increasingly tangled situation. Finding a way to untangle this knot is key. Lotte will challenge to break the losing streak by sending out Charlie Barnes on the 10th.

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