“It was a pitch I had to get an out on.”
Lotte Giants manager Larry Sutton replayed the previous day’s game (12 December) ahead of the team’s game against the NC Dinos at NC Park in Changwon on 13 December, and was deeply disappointed with the missed foul fly.
Lotte suffered a crushing 2-11 loss in the previous day’s game. It was a tight game until the fifth inning. Even though they were down 1-2, they were still in position for a bullpen battle in the middle and late innings. However, the failure to retire the leadoff hitter Park Se-hyuk in the sixth inning was the final straw.
It was a disappointing moment for Lotte. Kim Jin-wook, who was on the mound in the sixth inning, induced the leadoff hitter, Park Se-hyuk, to hit a foul fly to the third base dugout. Catcher Yoo Kang-nam took off his mask and made a gesture to catch it, but third baseman Han Dong-hee shouted out the call at the last second, and then ran full speed, but the ball sailed past him. A strike was called instead of an out, and she immediately gave up a single to centre field.
온라인바카라He then gave up a walk to Kim Joo-won, and with runners on first and second, he gave up a three-run homer to Son Ah-seob. In the end, the missed foul fly set off a butterfly effect that completely turned the game around.
“I had to get an out, that’s all I can say,” Sutton said of the situation, adding, “I was able to get both of them (Han Dong-hee and Yoo Kang-nam). The pitch itself had a long flight and everyone could have caught it, but the third baseman has priority over the catcher on infield hits. At the end, Han Dong-hee shouted for a call, but she missed the ball,” she said, summarising the situation.
Lotte’s starting lineup was Kim Min-seok (centre fielder), Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Ahn Chi-hong (first baseman), Lee Jung-hoon (designated hitter), Jeon Jun-woo (left fielder), No Jin-hyuk (shortstop), Yoo Kang-nam (catcher), Park Seung-wook (second baseman), and Lee Hak-joo (third baseman). The starting pitcher was Charlie Barnes.
Lee Jung-hoon, who was registered to the first team for the first time this year the day before and hit a home run in the ninth inning, will start. He was released by KIA last year and was picked up by Lotte. He was called up to the first team this year after batting 2-for-8 in 54 games (163 at-bats, 47 runs) with two home runs, 26 RBIs and a .719 OPS in the Futures League.
Sutton said, “He did a great job yesterday coming up in the last at-bat and hitting a home run. I was really happy with the way he was swinging, and he carried that over from Sangdong. It was a really nice swing to see,” he said. “I was happy to see that the swing I had yesterday was the same swing I had in spring training. With our offence struggling a little bit, I’m hoping that yesterday’s home run will be a spark for our offence,” said Lee.