“I’d like to see a more aggressive offense like we had earlier in the season. I expect aggressive baserunning.”
The two-game winning streak is a turning point. However, their win-loss margin is still -5 (44-49). They are in seventh place in the standings.
The Lotte Giants need a more solid winning streak to achieve their dream of fall baseball. If the Giants are to have any hope of making it to fall baseball, and by extension, the Korean Series, they need to turn things around before it’s too late.
Manager Larry Sutton said, “I feel good about our hitting cycle, but I’m not satisfied yet. We’re not scoring as many runs as we thought we would. We’re not capitalizing on scoring situations.” They’re getting into scoring position, but only four runs in two games.
“Guys are getting on base more, and we’re putting ourselves in scoring position. We need to continue to do that. But I think it’s going to get better.”
“Ahn Kwon-soo went from first to third with one hit, and I think that was very important. That kind of aggressive baserunning is important,” he said. “If you think back to the beginning of the season, the table-setters were the ones who led the team. Ahn Kwon-soo got his first hit yesterday, and Kim Min-seok has been hitting hot in the second half.” 안전놀이터
Lotte will be without Yoo Kang-nam, who has been their best hitter with six home runs, and Han Dong-hee, the ‘next Lee Dae-ho’. Noh Jin-hyuk also had two hits the day before, but he hasn’t quite hit his stride yet.
However, the fact that their opponent the previous day was Korea’s No. 1 pitcher, Ahn Woo-jin, had a big impact on the team’s mood. “It was an important game for us to build momentum,” Sutton said. “The team is definitely getting more balanced,” Sutton said, emphasizing that the win against a pitcher like Ahn gave the team confidence.
“The players’ desire to go to fall baseball is great, and it’s turning into a good performance and motivation for the team. We’re going to fight and win as a team.”