Catcher Shin Jung-geun was the unsung hero of the Lotte Giants’ 11-1 victory over the Busan NC Dinos on May 25.
Starting in the eighth spot in the batting order, Lee went 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs, and one run scored, while his steady reads and blocking on defense helped starter Park Se-woong toss a no-hitter.
“Yesterday, the combination of Jung-in-geun and Park Se-woong was very good,” said Lotte manager Larry Sutton ahead of the team’s game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Saturday. “Jung-in-geun was outstanding in all areas. In defense, he led well and blocked well, and in offense, he helped the team win with his hitting.”
As a backup catcher this season with Yoo Kang-nam in the Lotte uniform, Jung has been able to take the pressure off and successfully fill in when the team needs him.
He is batting just .188 (3-for-16)토토사이트 this season, but in the 25th game of the NC, he hit a two-run double with no outs in the third inning to give the opposition a 4-0 lead.
Park Se-woong had a big part to play in the success of the team.
The right-hander pitched his best game of the season, going seven and two-thirds innings, striking out eight and walking one to earn his second win of the season.
“A few days ago (May 12 against the KT WIZ), Park combined with catcher Seo Dong-wook and seemed to regain his confidence from that game,” Sutton said, adding, “He’ll be paired with Jung-in-geun in his next start.”
Speaking about Park overcoming his April slump and pitching more reliably in May, Sutton said, “He’s more confident in his pitches and more responsible. Yesterday, he threw all his pitches for strikes. It was good that he was able to get ahead in the count with his first-pitch strikes.”
Park is 2-1 with a 3.43 ERA on the season, including a 2-0 record and a 1.99 ERA in May.