Lotte doomed by defensive errors

[Anchor]

Recently, Lotte, which has fallen into an 11-game losing streak and dropped to 4th place, just one game ahead of 5th, has been struggling to break the losing streak with their ace, Gamboa.

However, once again, shaky defense has made it difficult for them to escape the losing streak.

Reporter Heo Sol-ji, please tell us more.

[Report]

Since the inception of professional baseball in 1982, there has been only one instance of a team that suffered an 11-game losing streak during the regular season making it to the postseason. To break this unfortunate statistic, Lotte created scoring opportunities from the start, but it was not easy.

In fact, in the 3rd inning, shortstop Lee Ho-jun made a defensive error by missing a routine ground ball, adding to the team's anxiety.

They managed to take the first lead, and ace Gamboa held strong with no runs allowed through the 4th inning, but ultimately, it was defense that let them down again.

In the 5th inning, with the bases loaded, first baseman Noh Jin-hyeok hesitated while catching a ball hit by Choi Jeong-won, leading to a throwing error that allowed NC to take the lead.

Lotte, having lost momentum, gave up four runs in the 5th inning alone, and manager Kim Tae-hyung's expression grew more serious.

Currently, as Lotte trails NC, if they fail to break the losing streak and extend it to 12 games, they could drop to 5th place, which is the cutoff for postseason play.

Hanwha's Son Ah-seop recorded a hit in the 8th inning, becoming the first player in league history to reach 2,600 hits.

Energized by Son Ah-seop's milestone, Hanwha defeated SSG and broke their 6-game losing streak.

Fans expressed their frustration and disappointment as they watched catcher Lee Byeong-heon awkwardly miss a high foul ball.

Perhaps feeling this sentiment, Lee Byeong-heon redeemed himself in his next at-bat with his first career grand slam, thrilling the home fans.

This is KBS News, Heo Sol-ji.