Reporter Lee Sung-min = Can Aaron Wilkerson (35) save the Lotte Giants in crisis.
Wilkerson will start against the LG Twins in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 10th.메이저사이트
Lotte, which had been on the rise with 14 wins and eight losses in August, completely lost two wins, five losses and one draw in eight games in September. After suffering three consecutive losses, Lotte saw its league ranking drop to eighth place with 57 wins, 66 losses and four draws (winning rate of 0.463).
The Lotte Giants, who are heading out to Seoul with a heavy heart, will face the third-ranked LG Twins with 68 wins, 60 losses and two draws (winning rate of 0.531). As the gap with the ninth-ranked NC Dinos (58 wins, 68 losses, 2 draws, and winning rate of 0.460) is only 0.5 games, the team desperately needs a win to prevent it from falling into the ninth place.
Wilkerson plays an important role. After joining Lotte in July last year, Wilkerson showed outstanding performance in 13 games, 7 wins, 2 losses and 2.26 ERA, and successfully renewed his contract.
This season, he has recorded 10-8 record with an ERA of 4.04 in 28 games. His ability to digest innings can give him a passing point as he ranks second in the league’s most innings (169 ⅓ innings), but his ERA in the four-point range is regrettable. Another concern is that his pace in the second half (2 wins, 2 losses and 5.17 ERA) has dropped compared to the first half (8 wins, 6 losses and 3.48 ERA in 18 games).
What is worth looking forward to is that Wilkerson is strong against LG. He pitched in four games against LG in the 2024 season and recorded only two losses without a win, but his earned run average (ERA) was 2.88. He also observed his performance at Jamsil Stadium with one win, two losses and an ERA of 3.04 in four games.
The urgent task for Lotte is to overcome its three consecutive losses. To achieve this goal, Wilkerson needs to block LG’s batting average (0.283), which ranks second in the team after the KIA Tigers (0.300). Attention is focusing on whether Lotte will be able to rebound due to Wilkerson’s good pitching.