Predictions favor LG's victory

[Anchor]

At one point, Lotte's chances of making the fall playoffs rose to 95%, but now it has plummeted to the 70% range.

Can manager Kim Tae-hyung, who is called a 'master tactician', overcome this crisis during the terrestrial broadcast on Tuesday?

The opponent is the formidable and sole leader, 'Shinbaram' LG.

While all five analysts, including Jeon Jun-ho and Yoon Hee-sang, predicted LG's victory, reporter Moon Young-kyu forecasted a win for Lotte.

Reporter Lee Mu-hyung summarizes the situation.

[Report]

Leading the second half with a record of 20 wins and 5 losses is 'Shinbaram' LG.

Despite a dramatic ninth-inning, two-out home run by Hwang Seong-bin on Sunday, the third-place Lotte ended up in a tie.

The matchup begins with the second-half 'wild card' duel between Tolhurst and Velasquez, followed by 'giant killer' Son Joo-young and the 'reliable' Na Kyun-an on Wednesday, and finally, on Thursday, foreign ace Chirinos will face off against 'young gun' Lee Min-seok, who has performed well against LG.

[Ponce: "Two out of four."]

[Kim Kwang-hyun: "Two out of four."]

[Hong Min-ki: "Who will win?"]

Let's take a look at the predictions from two commentators and four baseball reporters.

First, both Yoon Hee-sang and Jeon Jun-ho predicted a win for LG.

Yoon Hee-sang stated that LG is ahead in all aspects, including the mound, batting lineup, and the atmosphere of an 80% win rate in the second half.

Jeon Jun-ho added that while LG is stronger on paper, the condition of Tolhurst and Velasquez, who are still in the adjustment phase, could be a significant variable.

KBS baseball reporters also leaned towards LG with a 3 to 1 prediction for their victory.

Reporters Jeong Hyun-sook, Park Joo-mi, and Ha Mu-rim highly evaluated LG's 'big and strong physique' with a perfect balance of pitching and batting and a deep roster.

On the other hand, reporter Moon Young-kyu offered a different perspective.

He focused on the nature of baseball, where an 'upset' can happen at any time, and was the only one to predict Lotte's advantage.

The reason why most predictions lean towards LG's victory is due to their perfect pitching and batting balance, which has led to an impressive 20 wins and 5 losses, translating to an 80% win rate, and their strong performance against Lotte in the starting rotation.

For Lotte, the starting lineup of Velasquez, Na Kyun-an, and Lee Min-seok must lead a competitive fight, and after a period of extreme silence during their eight-game losing streak, they need to rely on the power of their lineup, which awakened with eight runs on Sunday.

Professional baseball is racing towards the dream number of '10 million spectators' for the second consecutive year.

With the strategic battle between manager Kim Tae-hyung, regarded as the best active tactician, and manager Yeom Kyung-yeop, known as 'Yeom Gal-ryang', also drawing attention, the first showdown on Tuesday will be available on KBS 2TV.

This is KBS News Lee Mu-hyung.