Left-handed pitcher Charlie Barnes (28, Rodeo) saved the day. He took the mound against SSG in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on April 18 and pitched seven innings of five-hit ball. 먹튀검증 He gave up just one hit while striking out four. Barnes’ no-hitter was his first in four games since May 27 against Gochuk Kiwoom (six innings). More importantly, it helped the team snap a four-game losing streak. Behind Barnes’ performance, Lotte won 7-2 and recorded its 32nd win of the season (28 losses).
In order to face the “lefty” Barnes, SSG had a lot of right-handers in the starting lineup, hoping to exploit his weakness against right-handers (0.296 batting average) rather than left-handers (0.229 batting average). It must have been a heavy weight on his shoulders. After losing to SSG in back-to-back days, the series was clinched early. In the previous game, on the 17th, the team gave up seven runs in the eighth inning alone. The mood was bound to be low. One of the key points of the day was how Barnes would carry on the early momentum.
His calm yet aggressive pitching was impressive. By the seventh inning, he had thrown a total of 94 pitches. He had a good mix of pitches – 64 strikes and 30 balls – with a fastball (34), slider (28), changeup (21), and two-seam (11). His fastball topped out at 147 mph. Overall, he was steady. The biggest crisis came in the fifth inning. With runners on first and second, he got Choi Ji-hoon to ground out to the second baseman. He gave up a walk to Choi Jeong, but induced a grounder to Heredia to end the inning without a run.
This is their second year in the KBO. Last year, he went 12-12 with a 3.62 ERA in 31 games, performing de facto ace duties. That’s why Lotte reached out to him once again. He had a bit of a rough start to the season. He faltered in April with a 7.58 ERA in four games. There were also two games where he didn’t make it past the fifth inning. He seemed to be on a steep 메이저도메인 upward curve in May (1.82 ERA in four games), but has been playing well in June. In his last game, against the Busan Hanwha, he was pulled after just 3⅓ innings. Luckily, he came through when it mattered most. Considering that the bullpen was shaky, it was even better.
The key is consistency. For Lotte to gain more momentum, the starting mound, especially Barnes, will be crucial. After the game, Barnes said, “I think the main thing was trying to maintain a favorable ball count. I was able to get good results because I didn’t have a high count like a two-ball no-strike,” Barnes said. “I didn’t really change my routine or anything, I just tried to get back to the feel that I’ve always had. I’m going to try to maintain that feeling.”