Lotte Giants Fall 0-1 to SSG Landers in Pitcher's Duel

The Lotte Giants suffered a narrow 0-1 defeat against the SSG Landers.

The third-ranked Lotte Giants of the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League lost 0-1 to the fourth-ranked SSG Landers at Sajik Stadium in Busan on August 8. With this loss, Lotte recorded their 47th defeat of the season (58 wins, 3 draws). Meanwhile, SSG Landers achieved their 52nd win (49 losses, 4 draws), moving up from fifth to fourth place in the rankings.

Lotte’s starting pitcher Nakyun An put in a solid performance, allowing just one run across six innings, but ultimately took the loss. Relievers Cheolwon Jung, Seongbin Yoon, and Jin Park each pitched a scoreless inning, but Lotte’s offense could not provide the necessary support, leaving the team scoreless.

SSG starter Minjun Choi exceeded expectations with 4.1 scoreless innings. The five relievers who followed completely shut down Lotte’s bats, allowing no hits and sealing the victory. Min Kim, who pitched 1.1 scoreless innings in the fifth, was credited with the win.

The only run of the game came in the top of the third inning. Jihoon Choi, SSG's leadoff hitter, doubled off Lotte starter Nakyun An, and Ji-young Lee drew a walk, putting runners on first and second. Following a failed bunt attempt by Junjae Jung, Seonghan Park delivered an RBI single to right field, giving SSG the crucial lead.

Lotte continued to earn walks and hit-by-pitches to put runners on base but failed to come up with timely hitting, leaving them scoreless. SSG also could not add insurance runs against Lotte's bullpen, and the game ended 0-1.

Despite leading the league with a team ERA of 2.80 in the second half, Lotte has struggled recently due to a stagnant offense. The team’s batting average stands at .244, placing them seventh in the league. This is a sharp contrast to their early season performance, when they led the league in hitting and reignited the “Rifle Squad” reputation. Even in this game, their defense minimized the damage, but the offense fell short in another close loss.

SSG capitalized on their lone scoring opportunity in the third inning to secure the win. With this victory, they climbed to fourth place and narrowed the gap with third-place Lotte from five to four games.

On August 9, Lotte's Seungwoong Park and SSG’s Geonwoo Kim are set to start in the second game of the weekend series. With Park having shown strong performances in the second half, fans are watching closely to see if he can help break Lotte’s losing streak and restore momentum.

The second game of the weekend series between Lotte and SSG will take place at 6 p.m. on August 9 at Sajik Stadium in Busan.

Note “This article was translated from the original Korean version using AI assistance, and subsequently edited by a native-speaking journalist.”

Photo=Lotte Giants, SSG Landers, Yonhap News Agency