The room is buzzing with excitement. This is because the Lotte Giants and LG Twins will play the second ‘El Lloracico’ of the season.
The first one was a three-game series with a batting battle. It was a suspenseful game until the end.
In their first three-game series in Busan on 11-13 April, LG scored 24 points and Lotte scored 22 points. The first game was a one-point win for Lotte, 6-5, the second was a 12-8 comeback for LG, and the third was an 8-7 win for Lotte. The fans went wild throughout the three-game series. LG pounded out 36 hits over the three days, while Lotte countered with 31.먹튀검증
Lotte took the best-of-three series 2-1. It was Lotte’s first ever winner-take-all series.
Ten days before the game, LG was in second place with a 6-2 record, while Lotte was in eighth place with a 2-4 record. After the three-game series, Lotte moved up to sixth place with a 4-5 record.
A month and a half later, they meet again. The positions have changed. LG is in sole possession of first place with 30 wins, 1 draw and 16 losses, while Lotte is third with 26 wins and 16 losses, two games behind. A sweep for LG would give them a complete solo lead, while a sweep for Lotte would move them into first place.
Looking at the May record alone, LG has a clear advantage. LG has a dominant 15 wins, 1 draw, and 5 losses in May alone. Lotte is third with 12 wins and 8 losses.
LG is first with a 3.32 ERA in May and first with a 2.9 team batting average. They have the best two-hitter balance. The starters pitch well, the bullpen closes well, and the bats hit well enough to score enough runs to win. There’s not much to fault. Last week, they moved into sole possession of first place with a 2-1 win in a midweek three-game series against the SSG Landers, who were tied for first place, and came to Seoul in good spirits with a 2-1 win over the weekend against the Gwangju Kia Tigers.
Lotte is seventh with a 4.04 ERA and fifth with a 2.059 team batting average. It’s not a very intimidating stat sheet, but it’s a different story in practice. There are bat flips alongside hits and home runs when you need them, and pitcher’s roars alongside walks and strikeouts when you need them. Even if you’re not a Lotte fan, you can’t help but be mesmerised by the drama. Lotte also took two of three from the NC Dinos and Kiwoom Heroes last week, but were disappointed to lose to Kiwoom in the eighth inning on the 28th.
On the 30th, LG will welcome back Lee Min-ho from injury, while Lotte will start free agent Han Hyun-hee. In terms of rotation, we can expect to see Casey Kelly-Park Se-woong on the 31st and Adam Plutko-Dan Stratton on the 1st of June. It’s not a one-sided matchup, but a tight one, so LG and Lotte fans can look forward to all three games.
Both teams are hugely popular and are in good form, so even if it’s a three-game series in the middle of the week, expect a crowd explosion.
This is the biggest game in Jamsil, so it may be more of a pitcher’s duel than a big batting game like in Busan.