Despite the loss in the comeback game, the manager was pleased.

Choi Jun-yong, a member of Lotte’s bullpen, pitched the eighth inning against Hanwha in Daejeon on May 5. It was his first appearance in 52 days since May 14 against Suwon KT, and in the meantime, he underwent treatment for micro-inflammation in his back, rehabilitation, and a Futures League appearance.

With the game tied at 3-3, Choi gave up singles to Nick Williams and Kwon Kwang-min to put runners on second and third. He then gave up a double to Jae-hoon Choi to end the game. With Lotte’s 3-5 loss, Choi suffered his first loss of the season. The first run led to the loss.

However, Lotte manager Larry Sutton was pleased with Choi’s pitching. “If you look at the process and not the result, both Na Gyun-an and Choi Jun-yong were good,” Sutton said in an interview before the game against Hanwha on June 6. “Choi Jun-yong’s delivery, velocity, and sharpness of his changeup were all good. He showed confident body movements on the mound.” His fastball reached 149 mph.

“He threw some good pitches, but some pitches were unfortunate to be called balls,” Sutton said. The umpire’s zone was particularly tight on this day, with Williams’ seven-pitch curve and Kwon’s three-pitch outside fastball near the zone but not called a strike.

Starter Na Gyun-ahn, making his first start in two weeks after battling elbow inflammation, wasn’t bad either, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits (one home run) with two walks and one strikeout in five innings. Sutton said, “He pitched five good innings in his comeback. His splitter wasn’t as effective as it normally is, but his overall stuff was good for a comeback.”먹튀검증

Shortstop Jin-hyuk Noh, who returned to the lineup after three weeks on the disabled list with a sore side, was silent in four at-bats but made some big plays in the outfield. Defensively, there was one throwing error in the second inning. “His footwork wasn’t as good as it used to be, but he needed time to get his feel for it,” Sutton said.