The starting return match after 1775 days did not meet expectations. NC Dinos' Lee Yong-chan (36) was pulled after 2 innings.
Lee Yong-chan took the mound as a starter in the professional baseball regular season game against the Lotte Giants at Busan Sajik Stadium on the 13th, recording 4 hits, 3 walks, 2 hit batters, 2 strikeouts, and 5 earned runs in 2 innings before leaving the mound.
Lee Yong-chan, who remained with NC after signing a second free agent contract for a maximum of 1 billion won over 2+1 years after the last season, had served as NC's closer for the past four years. However, this year, he prepared for the season by switching back to a starter position on the suggestion of coach Lee Ho-jun.
He is not a player without experience as a starting pitcher. He has recorded a decent career as a starting pitcher with 102 games, 597⅔ innings, 39 wins, 36 losses, and an earned run average of 3.93. His last start was on June 3, 2020, during his time with the Doosan Bears. He made a starting appearance after 1775 days that day.
However, he struggled from the first inning. He issued a walk to lead-off batter Hwang Seong-bin and allowed a single to Ko Seung-min, then another walk to Na Seung-yeop, resulting in a bases-loaded situation with no outs. He managed to strike out Reyes and then retired Yoo Kang-nam on a fly out to second base, creating a two-out bases-loaded situation.
However, he allowed a hit-by-pitch to Kim Min-seong, resulting in a run. In a continued two-out bases-loaded situation, he gave up a two-run double to Jeon Jun-woo. With two outs and runners on second and third, he allowed a two-RBI double to Jang Du-seong, resulting in 5 runs scored in the first inning alone. He then allowed Jeon Min-jae to get an infield hit to third base, placing him in another jam with two outs and runners on first and third, but managed to retire Hwang Seong-bin on a ground ball to the pitcher, narrowly finishing the first inning.
In the second inning, he struck out lead-off batter Ko Seung-min looking. Afterward, he allowed a walk to Na Seung-yeop. He recorded an out against Reyes on a fly ball to left field, but then allowed another hit-by-pitch to Yoo Kang-nam, creating a two-out situation with runners on first and second. However, left fielder Park Han-gyeol tracked down a well-hit ball by Kim Min-seong, preventing any runs from scoring as he wrapped up the second inning without conceding.
Nevertheless, the lineup quickly exploded, flipping the game to 6-5 by the second inning, thus eliminating Lee Yong-chan's loss conditions.
On this day, Lee Yong-chan utilized 24 four-seam fastballs at a maximum speed of 145 km/h, 29 forkballs, 7 curves, and 3 sliders.
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