NC Dinos, which caused a ‘storm’ at the beginning of the season, has been staggering with 5 consecutive losses since rising to the top. The atmosphere changed 180 degrees as the bullpen, which had been holding up well, was shaking and chronic defensive anxiety continued.
NC recorded 1 win and 5 losses in 6 games of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held last week.
NC, which started in a tie for second place, took the first game on the 18th against the LG Twins of the same rank and won three consecutive wins and took the lead alone. Even at this time, NC’s early season blast did not seem to be a coincidence.
However, it quickly collapsed after that. Starting with a 5-7 reverse defeat against LG on the 19th, giving only 5 points in the 7th inning, on the 20th against LG (4-9 loss), and on the 21st to 23rd against the Lotte Giants, 5 consecutive losses. got bogged down
As the score went from 10-5 to 10-10, the ranking also fell from 1st to 5th. It is still early in the season and the ride against the leading SSG Landers is only 3 games, but 5 consecutive losses is a big blow.
The problem that stands out the most is the bullpen. NC was a team that accumulated many wins with pitching power at the beginning of the season. Foreign pitcher Taylor Widener and foreign hitter Jason Martin were injured, but the starting lineup centered on Eric Peddy was strong and the bullpen was solid. It is proof that the team has already won three shutouts, including two 1-0 victories and one 2-0 victory.
However, the bullpen began to shake rapidly. 4 out of 5 consecutive losses were come-from-behind defeats even after scoring first. NC Guo-jin’s average ERA in 5 games reaches 10.31.
In the game against LG on the 19th, when the losing streak began, left-hander Kim Yeong-kyu allowed 4 runs in the 7th inning, and against Lotte on the 21st, they led 2-0. Against Lotte on the 23rd, Lee Yong-chan, who took the mound in the 9th inning after leading 3-0, collapsed with 5 runs. 토토사이트
In particular, it is painful that Lee Yong-chan, who has been the center of the bullpen, has shown poor performance in the last two games in a row.
Lee Yong-chan played an ‘iron wall’ with 1 win and 3 saves, 7⅓ innings scoreless in 7 games until the game on the 18th, when NC took the lead. However, he committed blown saves in two consecutive games last week, and on the 23rd against Lotte, he played a nightmare-like game with 5 runs.
There is no greater shock than losing a game you thought you had won. Last week’s back-to-back loss was the worst situation for NC.
Defensive problems, which have been hidden by good team performance, are also being revealed in earnest. During his losing streak, he committed 11 errors in 5 games and over 2 errors per game.
Even including before the losing streak, he is overwhelmingly No. 1 with 30 errors in 20 games of the season. Defensive mistakes are fatal because they will eventually lead to mound anxiety and conceding points.