There was a resolute determination to win. They used all permissible means to show their firm intention to win and ultimately succeeded.
The Lotte Giants, led by manager Kim Tae-hyung, achieved a dramatic comeback victory against the NC Dinos, 4-3, in the Nakdong River Derby's fourth game held at Busan Sajik Stadium on the 2nd. With this win, Lotte rushed to four consecutive victories, narrowing the gap to 0.5 games behind the leading LG.
On that day, Lotte took a 2-0 lead in the first inning with consecutive RBIs from RAY and Yoon Dong-hee. On the mound, starting pitcher Na Kyun-an continued to perform well, pitching 6⅓ innings with 3 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, and no runs allowed until one out in the 7th.
It was a crisis situation with one out and runners on first and second. Lotte quickly brought in their ace reliever and league leader in holds (9 holds) Jeong Cheol-won to protect the lead. Jeong Cheol-won faced Kim Hyung-jun with one out in the 7th, and he handled a pop-up to center field and managed a ground ball out from pinch hitter Park Geon-woo, overcoming the scoring threat. Jeong Cheol-won roared.
However, problems arose starting in the 8th inning. Jeong Cheol-won, who had come in for multiple innings, issued a walk to leadoff hitter Han Seok-hyun and allowed a double to Kwon Hee-dong after a 9-pitch battle, creating a no-out crisis with runners on second and third.
Eventually, Lotte brought in left-handed ace reliever Jeong Hyun-soo. He handled the leadoff hitter Kim Joo-won with a ground ball out to second base, changing the score and the out count. The score became 2-1, and after again allowing a walk to Park Min-woo, the situation became one out with runners on first and third.
Manager Kim Tae-hyung made a bold move by bringing in closer Kim Won-joong, who is currently leading the league with 9 saves. Although they allowed Park Min-woo to steal second base, creating a one out, runners on second and third situation, they managed to relieve some pressure by retiring Davidson with a shallow pop-up to right field. Then, they intentionally walked Son Ah-seop.
With two outs and the bases loaded, they faced Seo Ho-cheol. However, Kim Won-joong's command was not sharp, and after a full-count battle, he issued a bases-loaded walk, bringing the score to 2-2. Later, a wild pitch came during Kim Hyung-jun’s at-bat, and in an instant, they fell behind 2-3. The game turned without allowing an RBI.
Lotte ultimately entered the bottom of the 8th trailing. However, the players did not give up. After one out in the 8th, Hwang Seong-bin's single to left, Go Seung-min's single to right, and RAY's hit by pitch created a one out, bases loaded opportunity once again. And the clean-up hitter, Na Seung-yeop, who had previously delivered the game-winning hit in the last two games, produced a two-run double down the right field line, turning the score around to 4-3.
In the continued one out, runners on second and third opportunity, Yoon Dong-hee and Jeon Jun-woo both went down with outs. The best-case scenario for Lotte would have been to add more runs, but they were unable to do so. Nevertheless, they entered the 9th inning leading, 4-3.
In the top of the 9th, Lotte replaced closer Kim Won-joong with left-handed Song Jae-young. Given that pitchers Gu Seung-min and Kim Sang-soo were warming up in the bullpen, it seemed they intended to protect the 9th inning with sheer numbers.
Song Jae-young retired the leadoff left-handed hitter Han Seok-hyun with a foul fly to first base. Manager Kim Tae-hyung decided to replace him with Gu Seung-min ahead of Cheon Jae-hwan's at-bat. In response, NC manager Lee Ho-jun opted to send in Park Si-won as a pinch hitter. Gu Seung-min was met with a double to right-center by Park Si-won. Again, there was a one out, runners on first and second crisis. Gu Seung-min managed to retire Kim Joo-won with a pop-up to center, creating two outs with a runner on second.
At that moment, manager Kim Tae-hyung made another pitching change, bringing in Kim Sang-soo. In a situation without a closer, he expressed his determination to somehow secure the one-point victory. Things unfolded as intended. In a two outs, runner on second situation, Kim Sang-soo induced Park Min-woo into a ground ball out to second base, sealing the game. Kim Sang-soo celebrated with his signature roar, relishing the thrilling turnaround.
This determination was also conveyed to the players. After the game, Na Kyun-an remarked while watching the pitching change in the 9th, “I was a bit surprised. But given the flow of the game, I thought it might happen.”
He explained that now the players are responding well to manager Kim Tae-hyung's intentions. Na Kyun-an stated, "Now, even if the manager doesn’t specifically tell us, we can anticipate when the manager is going to move and act accordingly, so I think a good team atmosphere and a winning mood are being created right now. The manager believes that winning is the most important thing. And prior to that, he trusts the players well and gives good advice, so we’ve grown in that regard. I believe that’s largely due to the manager’s trust in us."
Thanks to manager Kim Tae-hyung's bold moves, Lotte is currently leading the league with 4 wins and 1 loss in one-point contests this season. They are becoming a strong team in close games and are qualifying themselves to chase the leading LG.
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