While taking a long break due to pouring rain, the Lotte Giants, who were pushed back to second place, restart to jump to first place.
Lotte ended the first month of the season with a 5-3 come-from-behind victory over Kiwoom Heroes on April 30th and a sole first place finish. It was the first time in 3,949 days since July 7, 2012 that Lotte rose to the top spot after 20 games (72 matches, 39 wins, 39 losses, 3 draws, .565 win rate).
After waiting for about 4,000 days, Lotte climbed to the top of the leaderboard, but it did not hold the top spot for long. Lotte, who won the KIA game on the 2nd, the first game of May, and ran a 9-game winning streak, lost 2-10 in the next game on the 3rd. Ace Na Kyun-an (4 innings, 5 runs), who had an undefeated record of 4 wins in April, and Kim Jin-wook (⅓ innings, 2 runs), who continued the ‘Mr. Zero’ streak, collapsed and lost, so the damage was great.
Lotte, whose game was canceled on the 4th, the last day of the three-game series against KIA, gave up first place to SSG Landers, who defeated KT Wiz 10-2 on the same day. After waiting for about 4,000 days, Lotte’s solo 1st place, which achieved the dream of ‘top de’, ended on the 4th. Since then, while Lotte’s three consecutive matches against the Samsung Lions were all canceled in the rain, SSG swept the series against the Kiwoom Heroes and ran for five consecutive victories. 먹튀검증
While Lotte was taking a break, the gap with SSG in first place widened by two games. The LG Twins (1.5 game difference), who won 3 consecutive wins, is rather closer to 1st place with a 1.5 game difference. Lotte ranks second in win rate (15-9, win rate 0.625), ahead of LG (18-11, win rate 0.621).
A five-day break seems to do more good than harm. During the winning streak, the bullpen was consumed a lot. The content of the game where the winning streak was broken was also not good, so the heated atmosphere could have subsided rapidly. Coach Sutton positively looked at the impact of the cancellation of the rain, saying, “The good flow does not stop because of the cancellation of the rain.
This week’s schedule isn’t bad either. After losing 3 games in a row last week and even losing ace Kwak Bin due to an injury, the Doosan Bears, whose mood has subsided, will be called home to play 3 games in a row during the week. The 3 consecutive weekend away matches are against KT, which fell to the bottom.
Those who have tasted the sweet taste of the summit will never give up on it. Attention is focusing on whether Lotte, which has tasted a short but sweet first place after a long wait, will be able to ignite the competition for the lead once again.