Sajik is the place that draws the most attention among the three matchups held on the weekend from the 19th to the 21st. As of the 18th, 1st place SSG and 2nd place Lotte were on the verge of a battle for first place in front of a full crowd.
Both coaches did not appear to be so concerned about the results of this three-game series. This is because the ranking at this point does not mean much in a situation where the season has yet to be played for about 30%.
However, when the lid of the game opened on the 19th, the desire for victory was evident everywhere in the management of the game by the two coaches. An all-out war was fought to overwhelm the momentum of the three-game series over the weekend. A lot of strategies came out as if it was expected that it would be a narrow game.
Lotte coach Larry Sutton also moved from the start. When Kim Min-seok walked on base in the first inning, he used Ahn Kwon-soo, who had the ability to perform operations, to harass starting pitcher Park Jong-hoon. In the end, Kim Min-seok succeeded in stealing second base and achieved his goal. Koh Seung-min failed to bunt and struck out, but the runners were able to advance with a wild throw, and An Chi-hong’s first base grounder got the first point.
Even in the 5th inning with a 2-1 lead, it took several operations. When Park Seung-wook, the leader, reached base with a double through left-center, manager Sutton ordered Yun Dong-hee to make a sacrifice bunt. However, Yoon Dong-hee was unable to land a sacrifice bunt, but after the 2S, he switched to an attack and scored a hit to the left, resulting in a better result.
In the 6th inning, with a 3-1 lead, Lotte added 1 point by succeeding in the double steel operation that Lotte had polished during the spring camp. Leader Ahn Chi-hong, after a run, Noh Jin-hyeok reached base and became 1st and 3rd base, and when Ji-wan Ji-wan was at bat, 1st base runner Noh Jin-hyuk boldly cut off the start. When Ji Ji-wan struck out on a missed swing, SSG catcher Kim Min-sik threw the ball to second base, while third base runner An Chi-hong stepped on the groove and scored a double steal. 메이저놀이터
This kind of strategy had come out before, but coach Sutton said it was a ‘Plan B’ that the players judged according to the situation.
If the ball goes to second base in a situation where the batter has not succeeded in the run-and-hit strategy, the runner on third runs in. Previously, Han Dong-hee, who was slow on his feet, succeeded in a home dash in the KIA match and drew attention. Considering that third base runner An Chi-hong’s main effort was not that fast, Kim Min-sik chose second base, but the third base runner was ready to come home at any time.
In pitcher operation, the bench actively intervened, such as carrying out a bullpen supply operation in the 8th inning when starter Park Se-woong pitched 6 innings and Kim Jin-wook pitched 1 inning. When Choo Shin-soo came out as a pinch hitter against Koo Seung-min, left-hander Lee Tae-yeon was put in. Of course, the result was not good, but fortunately for Lotte, Kim Sang-soo cleaned up one remaining outcount and created a winning spirit. In the 8th inning, Roh Jin-hyeok and Park Seung-wook’s consecutive timely hits made Lotte run away to 7-2, so the odds of winning skyrocketed.