Lotte’s 9 billion ace in trouble again, ERA last in the world

Whatever happened to the ‘glasses ace’ of our memories? Lotte right-hander Park Se-woong, 29, threw cold water on his team’s recent upswing with one of his worst pitches.

Park started the game against KT in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Sept. 9.

Taking the mound in the bottom of the first inning with the score 0-0, Park got off to a good start by getting leadoff hitter Mel Rojas Jr. to ground out to shortstop and getting Kang Baek-ho to fly out to right field on the first pitch. After giving up back-to-back singles to Kim Sang-soo and Oh Jae-il to put runners on first and second, Park got Hwang Jae-gyun to ground out to third to end the inning.

The trouble started in the second inning. Park gave up a double to leadoff hitter Kim Min-hyuk and a double to Bae Jae-dae. Both were hit by 142-kilometer-per-hour fastballs. After catching Cho’s bunt directly, Park was content to throw to first base to get the runner out. The next batter he faced with runners on second and third was Shim Woo-jun, and this time, he threw a 121-kilometer-per-hour curveball, but he had to watch as two runners scored on a single to right.

After Rojas singled to right to put runners on first and third, Park gave up another run when Baek Ho Kang singled to right. After Park gave up a walk to Kim Sang-soo to put runners on first and second, Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung himself came to the mound. Usually, the pitching coach comes to the mound to check on the pitcher’s condition, but this was not the case this time. Kim Tae-hyung looked frustrated and strongly reprimanded Park Se-woong.

No pitching change was made, and the game continued. Park struck out Oh Jae-il on a swinging strikeout and got Hwang Jae-gyun to fly out to center field to end the inning without further damage.

The trouble was, the runs kept coming. In the bottom of the third inning, leadoff hitter Kim Min-hyuk hit an infield single to the second baseman, and after a throwing error by second baseman Ko Seung-min put runners on second and third with nobody out, Park gave up another run on a line drive to the plate.

Park’s woes continued in the bottom of the fourth inning. After a leadoff single to left by Kim Sang-soo, Park looked shaky as he surrendered a straight ball to Oh Jae-il. The signs were not 카지노사이트 good. Eventually, Park was forced to give up a 145-kilometer-per-hour fastball to Hwang Jae-gyun for a three-run homer to left field. It was a 125-meter arch.

KT pounced. Kim Min-hyuk led off the inning with a bunt single in front of the pitcher against a shaky Park Se-woong. As if he were a punching bag, Park gave up a single to left field to Bae Jae-dae and a double to left field to Cho Dae-hyun, giving up a 1-8 lead. Faced with the bases loaded after walking Shim Woo-joon on a straight ball, Park was able to get Rojas to ground out to first base to end the inning.

That was it for Park. Down 2-8 in the bottom of the fifth, Lotte sent right-hander Lee Min-seok to the mound. Park struggled through four innings, giving up 12 hits and five walks while striking out one. He struck out one and gave up eight runs, seven of which were earned.

Lotte fell to 6-10 and failed to win their fifth straight game, ending their 100% winning percentage in August. Park Se-woong’s performance was especially disappointing as Lotte was on a good track. Park gave up seven earned runs on the day, raising his season ERA to 5.34. This meant that Park dropped to the bottom of the league in terms of ERA. Currently, there are 20 pitchers in the league who have pitched a complete game. Among them, Park has the highest ERA.

Lotte signed Park to a five-year, non-free agent contract for a total of 9 billion won ($9 million) before last season, and the general consensus was that Park would go 9-7 with a 3.45 ERA, win a gold medal with the Hangzhou Asian Games team, complete his military service, and have a solid baseball career. However, this year has been 180 degrees different from last year. Kim Tae-hyung himself has taken the mound.

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