The Lotte Giants expect ‘resilience’ through the return of injured players in July.
Lotte manager Larry Sutton spoke about resilience with the start of July. Resilience is the ability to get back on your feet even if you are frustrated by failure.
This is the strength Lotte needs right now.
Lotte ended the first month of opening (0.636 odds) in first place. It was only 3949 days that Lotte took the lead when it played more than 10 games in the season. In May, they competed for the lead with a record of 13 wins and 9 losses. However, the team’s win rate in June fell to 0.360 (9 wins, 16 losses). In order to achieve the goal of entering the postseason for the first time in six years, a rebound in July is desperately needed. While competing for 3rd place with NC Dinos, it is being pursued fiercely by teams ranked 5th to 8th.
What coach Sutton is most looking forward to is the return of injured players. When the team’s performance fell in June, the first factor cited was the occurrence of ‘injured players’.
Key players in the starter, bullpen, and infield will return in turn. Na Kyun-an, who left the starting rotation due to inflammation of his right elbow, will return to the first team mound after 13 days against the LG Twins on the 4th. Fortunately, it wasn’t a big injury, and I recharged through rest. Na Kyun-an is 6-2 this season with an ERA of 3.14. The difference between when Na Gyun-an, who has played the role of an ace, is in the starting lineup and when he is not, is huge.
Choi Jun-yong, who has been away for a month and a half due to inflammation in the small part of his back, is also ready to return to the first team. He pitched in 3 games of the Futures (2nd team) league and finished the inspection, and also digested pitching in the bullpen while the 1st team coaches watched. Choi Jun-yong is strongly confident that he has finished preparing to return to the 1st team. When Choi Jun-yong, who posted 20 holds in 2021 and 14 saves and 6 holds last year, returns, he can add a lot of strength to his tired bullpen.
Shortstop Noh Jin-hyeok, who left due to side pain, is also in a hurry to return. After returning from rehabilitation at Iijima Hospital in Japan, he participated in the Future Steam practice game held at Sangdong Stadium in Gimhae on the 1st and recorded 1 hit in 3 at-bats.
Noh Jin-hyeok, who moved to Lotte under a 4-year, 5 billion won free agent (FA) contract, led Lotte’s upward trend in April and May. He played an active role as a solver at every decisive moment, scoring 4 final hits (tied for first in the team) and 25 RBIs. He played the shortstop with a heavy defensive burden and held the center well. However, in June, his physical condition sagged and his pace dropped along with it. An official from the club expected, “If Jin-hyeok Noh returns more than anyone else, he will definitely be able to gain great strength.” 토토사이트
In addition to the return of these three, for Lotte to rebound reliably, the resilience of foreign pitchers, bullpens, and batters must follow. Coach Sutton hoped, “The pace fell in June (with the return from injury), but the atmosphere changed in July, so I hope it will be a month where I can hit and go up again.”