▲ Kim Jin-wook ⓒ롯데 자이언츠
[By Yoon Wook-jae | Sajik Stadium] The slide continued. The Lotte Giants couldn't stop their fall toward the bottom of the standings, and even a raucous home atmosphere at Sajik couldn't change the outcome.
The Giants were drubbed 9-1 by the Doosan Bears on April 22 at Busan's Sajik Stadium in a 2026 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League matchup.
Before the game, Lotte removed outfielder Hwang Seong-bin from the first-team roster with a minor tear in his left rectus femoris and added catcher Jeong Bo-geun. Lotte's lineup was Han Tae-yang (2B) - Víctor Reyes (RF) - No Jin-hyeok (1B) - Han Dong-hee (3B) - Jeon Jun-woo (LF) - Son Ho-young (DH) - Jang Du-seong (CF) - Son Seong-bin (C) - Jeon Min-jae (SS). Left-hander Kim Jin-wook took the mound as the starter.
Doosan countered with right-hander Kwak Bin on the bump. Their lineup read Park Chan-ho (SS) - Daz Cameron (RF) - Park Jun-soon (2B) - Yang Eui-ji (C) - Kim Min-seok (LF) - Yang Seok-hwan (DH) - Kang Seung-ho (1B) - Park Ji-hoon (3B) - Jung Soo-bin (CF).
Doosan struck first. In the top of the second, Yang Seok-hwan drew a walk, Kang Seung-ho followed with an RBI single to left, and Park Ji-hoon earned a walk to load the bases. Jung Soo-bin then delivered a two-run single to left to put the Bears on the board.
Lotte responded in the bottom of the third. Leadoff batter Jeon Min-jae opened with a single to left, and after one out Víctor Reyes singled to center. No Jin-hyeok's fly ball to right moved Jeon to third, and a wild pitch on Han Dong-hee's plate appearance allowed Jeon to score, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
▲ Kim Jin-wook ⓒ롯데 자이언츠 
▲ Kim Won-joong ⓒ롯데 자이언츠
Doosan added to its lead in the top of the fifth when Jung Soo-bin launched a home run. Jung jumped on Kim Jin-wook's first pitch, a 144 km/h fastball, extending his homer streak to two games.
The Bears put the game out of reach in the top of the seventh. Lotte turned to reliever Kim Won-joong, but he misplayed Daz Cameron's grounder and made an errant throw to second with one out and a runner on, creating a scoring opportunity. A wild pitch during Park Jun-soon's at-bat allowed Park Chan-ho to score, and Yang Eui-ji later added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly to center.
In the bottom of the eighth, Han Tae-yang and Víctor Reyes recorded back-to-back singles to put runners at first and second with no outs, but Lotte failed to capitalize. No Jin-hyeok flied out to left, Han Dong-hee struck out, and Jeon Jun-woo grounded out to second to end the threat.
The loss underlined Lotte's struggles. Starter Kim Jin-wook pitched well enough — five innings, eight hits, three walks, nine strikeouts and three runs — but Kim Won-joong's shaky inning of relief (one inning, two hits, two runs, both unearned) proved costly.
With the defeat, Lotte dropped its fifth straight and fell to 6-14 on the season. Kiwoom's 3-0 victory over NC moved Kiwoom to 7-14, relegating Lotte to 10th place. Doosan, meanwhile, extended its win streak to four and improved to 9-11-1.
Off the field, Sajik Stadium hosted a ceremony honoring Jo Ji-hoon on his 20th season as Lotte's head cheer captain. Jo, who has led the cheering squad since 2006, took part in a pregame autograph session and threw out a ceremonial first pitch.
▲ Son Seong-bin ⓒ롯데 자이언츠
