“It was a tough day, but the guys gave it their all.”
It rained on and off. Despite the drizzle, the first Ulsan Series between Lotte and Doosan in a year was as hot as ever. The two teams put on a spectacular pitching match and hoseby parade that had fans in a frenzy. After a hard-fought game, Lotte swept Doosan in the first game in Ulsan this season.
Lotte rode a seven-hit shutout by starting pitcher Charlie Barnes and a strong offense to a 3-0 victory over Doosan in the first game of a three-game home series in the 2024 KBO League on Saturday at Munsu Baseball Stadium in Ulsan, South Korea. The win snapped a three-game losing streak and paved the way for Lotte to climb into the middle of the pack, while Doosan fell to back-to-back losses.
“Barnes was our ace in a difficult situation,” said head coach Kim Tae-hyung after the game, ”and I’m grateful to all the players who did their best to stay in the game despite the on-and-off rain, which made it difficult to focus on the game. In particular, Choi Hang was able to solve the crucial situation and bring us the victory,” said Choi. “I would like to thank the Ulsan fans for their hard work and support in the bad weather.”
On the mound for Lotte, Barnes pitched seven innings of one-hit ball with one walk and nine strikeouts. He used a mix of a 147 mph fastball, slider, changeup and two-seam fastball to hold the Doosan lineup to one hit. The left-handed ace returned from injury to start the second half.
Thanks to a strong start, Lotte’s bats came alive and broke 토토사이트 추천 the tie in the bottom of the seventh inning.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, with runners on first and second, Park Seung-wook scored the first run of the game with a timely double to left field. It was the game-winning hit. With the bases loaded and two outs, pinch-hitter Choi Hang singled to right to bring in both runners and make it 3-0. The game was then suspended due to heavy rain and resumed after an hour. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Lotte’s foreign-born batter Victor Reyes made it 4-0 when he launched a two-run shot over the center field fence.
Pil Seung-jo also contributed to the win. Following Barnes, Koo Seung-min and Kim Won-joong pitched one scoreless inning on the mound to preserve the win. They helped Barnes improve to 5-2 on the season.
After the complete game, Barnes said, “It was a good team effort today, and I felt good. I felt like I was in the same shape I was in before I got hurt in the first half, and I think coming back at 100 percent helped me a lot,” Barnes said. ”Again, I don’t think too far ahead, I just think about today’s game, and when it’s over, I think about the next game. I think I did my part today and the whole pitching staff deserves a lot of praise because the team finished the game without allowing a run.”
It was Lotte’s first win in Ulsan this year. Lotte also has fond memories of Ulsan from last year. It will be interesting to see if Lotte can rebound from their three-game losing streak.
