Baseball’s Lotte is preparing for the biggest test of its fall season.
Lotte had a roller coaster ride last week, going back and forth between heaven and hell. They started off strong by sweeping a midweek three-game series against then second-place SSG, but then suffered a shocking three-game series loss to last-place Kiwoom in a weekend three-game series.
This dropped Lotte to seventh place, 1.5 games behind fifth-place Doosan. Their fall baseball hopes are still alive, but if they can’t overcome the biggest hurdle of the season, this week, they could be in danger of elimination.토토사이트
Lotte hosts first-place LG and second-place KT this week. They open with a three-game series against LG in Jamsil before traveling home to Busan to take on KT.
Both teams are tough opponents for Lotte.
Leaders LG have solidified their dominance, while KT have been on a tear lately. Both teams are on a roll, winning 7-3 and 8-2 in their last 10 games, respectively.
For Lotte, second-place KT is more daunting than first-place LG. Lotte has a close 5-6 record against LG this season, but they have been outscored by KT 3-9.
KT’s recent rise is particularly frightening. Once in last place, KT has been on a terrifying run, climbing all the way up to second place. During their recent 10-game winning streak, KT is 24-5 with a winning percentage of 0.828. Their winning percentage during this period is higher than LG’s.
Lotte will have their work cut out for them this week, as the outcome of their six-game series could either keep them in the race for fifth place or push them out of the fall baseball race.
For starters, pot-bellied foreigner Aaron Wilkerson will make two appearances this week to give the team a boost in the fall baseball race. Wilkerson, who joined the team during the season as a replacement for “hairy ace” Dan Straily, has been Lotte’s hope in five games, going 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA. This will be his first start against LG and KT, so he may be a bit unfamiliar to opposing hitters.
Add to that another foreign pitcher, Charlie Barnes, who has been pitching well in the second half of the season, and homegrown ace Na Kyun-ahn, who made his comeback last week against Gochuk Kiwoom after a 25-day absence.
With nowhere to turn, it will be interesting to see if Lotte can rebound against the top teams.
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