Hwang Sung-bin proved once and for all why the Lotte Giants need him.
The Lotte Giants of the KBO snapped a four-game losing streak with a 2-0 win over the Suwon KT on Saturday. After a five-game winning streak, the Giants were missing several players. Injuries and inability to perform at full strength. Among them, Hwang Sung-bin’s absence was the most painful.
He suffered a hamstring injury in the Sasik SSG match on March 24 and stayed on the first team roster to hopefully improve, but was eventually removed from the first team roster on the 29th. It was a roller coaster ride for Lotte during Hwang’s absence. They lost five straight games around the time of Hwang’s injury, then rebounded with a five-game winning streak. But then they lost four in a row again.
On April 14, Hwang made his first appearance on the first team roster in over a month. Hwang showed his motivation upon his return. On his return to the first team, he was left out of the starting lineup. Coach Kim Tae-hyung was worried about a recurrence of his hamstring injury, but Hwang made his presence felt by grabbing the bat and swinging it from the third inning onward. Coach Kim Tae-hyung was concerned that his over-motivation would backfire, 스포츠토토 so he calmed him down.
He didn’t want him to feel like he had to solve and lead something.
“Don’t think too much about saving the team,” Kim said to Hwang Sung-bin on the 15th.
However, Hwang’s presence was noticeable from his first day back. In the eighth inning of the 14th game, down 3-4, he walked to pinch-hit for Na Seung-yeop, stole second base, advanced to third on Yoo Kang-nam’s fly ball to right field, and scored on Lee Hak-joo’s infield single to tie the game. On the 16th, Hwang Sung-bin returned to the starting lineup and continued to pound the ball. From the leadoff hit, to the extra-base hit, to the final defense in the top of the ninth inning, there wasn’t a moment when Hwang’s name wasn’t mentioned. In the first inning, the leadoff hitter drew four pitches after two strikes and walked. He then induced a fielder’s choice and reached second base. Ko Seung-min popped out to center, but Reyes was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a wild pitch, and Hwang raced home on Reyes’ shallow fly ball to center field. Hwang’s foot set up Reyes’ sacrifice fly and RBI.
In the third inning, Lee Hak-joo led off with a single to right. Hwang then laid down a bunt toward the first baseman. He sprinted and made a head-first sliding catch, but it was no big deal. It rattled KT starter Cuevas, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Go Seung-min followed with a single to right that cleared the first baseman. Hwang Sung-bin drove in the go-ahead run to make it 2-0.
However, Lotte couldn’t add any more runs.
The lead remained 2-0 as the batting order was tight and they failed to capitalize on their opportunities. It had to be protected. In the eighth inning, the bases were loaded once again, but no runs scored.
Hwang Sung-bin contributed defensively to the defense. With one out in the bottom of the sixth inning, he made a leaping catch in front of the fence on Moon Sang-chul’s big hit to left field to prevent the game from getting out of hand. Instead of the ball sailing out of the foul line, it came inside and he stayed focused and made a good catch. The momentum was lost. Then, in the ninth inning, he leaped in front of the fence to catch a ball that landed outside the foul line from leadoff hitter Kang Baek-ho. Like a flying squirrel caught in a net, Hwang flew out.
He had just returned from a hamstring injury, a ticking time bomb for the explosive baserunner. But he stuck to his instincts. “It’s natural for me to go all out when the situation calls for it. That’s why I play hard,” he emphasized.
Last year, Hwang started the season well, but a finger injury and an ankle injury slowed him down.
That pace never returned. “Last year, I was impatient. I was impatient. I was impatient last year, and I was sending the message, ‘It’s okay, I’ll be back soon,’” he reflected. Having been through it once, this year was different. “I was worried, but this year I tried to be calm in my preparation and see how I was doing, and I think that helped me now,” he added. 슬롯사이트 순위 The head-first slide at first base is also a potential injury risk, but Hwang says he’s going to be more daring. “Your body reacts,” he says. It’s more unnerving to think that you’re going to get hurt. I try to be proactive rather than passive,” he says, emphasizing that a bold approach can prevent injuries.
Lotte travels to Jamsil on the 17th to face Doosan, who are in high spirits. Doosan will be Lotte’s first opponent in a winning series this season. Will the return of the “Man of Magic” be enough to fuel Lotte’s engine?