Incheon — Sports Seoul reporter Kim Dong-young: “Maybe things will start clicking from now on.”
The Lotte Giants beat SSG for the second straight day, rallying late in both games. The offense finally delivered, and 23-year-old Yun Dong-hee led the charge with his first three-hit game of the season — a performance almost as valuable as the victory itself.
Lotte topped SSG 7-5 in the second game of the three-game weekend series at Incheon SSG Landers Field on May 2, 2026. The win followed a 10-7 victory the previous day, sealing a series victory and extending Lotte’s winning streak to three games.
Starter Na Gyun-an turned in a strong outing, going seven innings and allowing two runs for a Quality Start Plus (QS+). It was his first win in six starts this season, finally snapping an unfortunate streak without a decision in his favor.
The Giants collected 13 hits and seven runs, erasing an early 0-2 deficit with four runs in the top of the sixth, two in the seventh, and one in the eighth. Their timely hitting in the middle and late innings decided the game — when the bats show up, wins follow.
Yun was the standout. Batting second and playing right field, he collected three hits and scored two runs — his first three-hit game since Aug. 14 last year in Daejeon, ending a 261-day drought for multi-hit games.
With no outs and runners on first and second in the sixth, Yun lined a single to left that loaded the bases. Victor Reyes followed with a two-run RBI single, and Noh Jin-hyuk’s sacrifice fly brought Yun home with the eventual go-ahead run.
In the seventh, Yun ripped a double down the left-field line with no outs and a runner on first, instantly creating runners at second and third. Reyes drew an intentional walk to load the bases; Park Seung-wook’s walk pushed a run across, and Yun scored on a wild pitch.
In the eighth, with one out and a runner on second, Yun lined a single to center to set up runners at first and third. Reyes delivered an RBI, pushing Lotte’s lead to 7-2. Yun didn’t drive in a run on that play, but his role as the No. 2 hitter — setting the table and creating scoring chances — was pivotal to the win.
Entering the game, Yun was hitting just 0.187 with a 0.616 OPS. Expected to be one of the team’s cornerstones, he’d struggled and briefly been sent down to the Futures. Afterward he said the stint helped him reset. “I wasn’t getting results before being sent down and felt rushed,” Yun said. “I spent ten days organizing my thoughts. That calm period let me revisit parts of my approach I couldn’t see while on the first team.”
He credited coaches across both levels for helping him tighten the details. “The Futures manager and coaches focused on the fine points. Back with the first team, the manager, the coaching staff and the analytics group helped a lot with timing,” Yun said.
He also reviewed his approach at the plate that produced those key hits. “In the sixth, the starter was pulled suddenly and the reliever came in quickly. I focused on seeing pitches and attacked the ones in the zone. In other at-bats, I tried to be aggressive early in the count. Being aware of the opponent’s situation in each plate appearance led to good results,” Yun said.
“Our starting pitchers have been strong. If the position players keep producing at the plate like they did over the past two games, I think we can climb back up the standings,” he added. raining99@sportsseoul.com
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