Scenes feared for the 2025 season burst forth all at once. The opening game was like a condensed version of what could be mentioned in the 'despair chapter.'

The Lotte Giants suffered a 2-12 defeat against the LG Twins in the professional baseball opening game held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 22nd. This marked Lotte's third consecutive loss in the opening game since their victory over Kiwoom in 2022.

They were completely defeated with a performance that made one wonder, 'Could it be worse than this?' It started when Charlie Barnes, who led the victory over Kiwoom in the opening game three years ago and made his debut as the starting pitcher, collapsed.

In fact, there were instances where 'BABIP Shins' did not follow. Batted balls that should have been ordinary infield grounders were all turned into doubles due to defensive shifts. After one out in the first inning, Hyun Soo Kim's batted ball passed by third baseman Ho Young Son, who was positioned on the shift towards the third base side, turning into a double. In the continued one-out, second base situation, Austin's batted ball also passed by first baseman Na Seung Yeob, who had shifted his defensive positioning to between first and second, resulting in an RBI double towards right field.

Luck was not on their side during the initial scoring process, and Barnes continued to falter afterward. He had a disastrous pitching performance, allowing 8 hits (1 home run), 2 walks, 1 hit-by-pitch, 2 strikeouts, and 7 earned runs over 3 innings. This marked the first time in about two years he recorded more than 7 earned runs since April 16, 2023, against Samsung in Daegu when he allowed 8 earned runs over 5⅔ innings.

Additionally, the defense offered no help whatsoever. They committed 123 errors last year, ranking second for the most errors. In an effort to shed the reputation of poor defense, they dedicated considerable time to strengthening their defense from last year's finishing camp to this year’s spring camp. However, Lotte committed three errors right from the opening game.

In the first inning, trailing 0-3, after striking out Chan Il Song, catcher Kang Nam Yoo committed a throwing error to second base while trying to stop a stolen base attempt by Ji Hwan Oh, leading to a crisis of two outs and a runner on third base. There were no additional runs, but this was the first error.

In the second inning, they survived without allowing any runs, but there were some precarious moments. With one out and runners on first and second, they managed to induce Hyun Soo Kim into a grounder to second base, but second baseman Go Seung Min nearly made a throwing error to second base. Shortstop Seung Wook Park managed to catch it just in time to add an out count. Though the batted ball was slow, they couldn't even produce an opportunity for a double play.

Despite the momentum of Lotte's chase with a two-RBI hit from Ho Young Son in the top of the fourth to narrow the score to 2-7, an error dampened the flow. After one out in the fourth, first baseman Na Seung Yeob dropped Mun Bo Kyung's ground ball batted ball. Miscalculating the bounce, he failed to catch it with an awkward posture. Mun Bo Kyung, who reached base due to Na Seung Yeob's error, scored on Chan Il Song's single to left field, increasing the gap to 2-8.

In the fifth inning, an error sealed the deal in the game. By this point, Lotte was barely surviving with players from the chasing group and had been replacing pitchers to match left and right-handed batters. Left-handed pitcher Jae Young Song was brought in to face left-handed batter Chang Ki Hong. He walked the leadoff hitter Chang Ki Hong, creating a one-out, first and second base crisis. However, he induced Hyun Soo Kim into a grounder right to the second baseman. This should have been an easy double play ball, but second baseman Go Seung Min's toss went way over the head of shortstop Seung Wook Park. An astounding error occurred, allowing further runs, increasing the gap to 2-9, forcing Lotte to throw in the towel.

Focusing on defense improvement while preparing for the season, they executed a parade of errors from the opening game. Nevertheless, Lotte had a lineup capable of making up for this. The lineup, represented by 'Yoon Go Na Hwang Son,' was a leader in Lotte's rebuilding and now had to play a central role, minimally fulfilling its duty.

However, the batting lineup also failed to come alive that day. In the top of the fourth, trailing 0-7, LG's starting pitcher Yoni Chirinos wobbled. With a double from Reyes and consecutive walks from Dong Hee Yoon and Jun Woo Jeon, they created a one-out, bases loaded opportunity. Ho Young Son's two-RBI hit reignited the spark of the chase. This hit was a sign of recovery for Ho Young Son, who had a batting average of .091 (2 hits in 22 at-bats) in the exhibition games. Afterward, with a single to right field by Kang Nam Yoo, they maintained the bases loaded opportunity, but Seung Wook Park struck out on three pitches, and Seong Bin Hwang swung at the first pitch, resulting in a foul fly to the catcher, causing the opportunity to evaporate. The lineup, which needed to offset the shaky defense, failed to play this role, falling short of even dragging the game into a slugfest.

Still, Lotte's younger pitchers who came in after Barnes battled valiantly. Kyung Hyun Kim recorded 1⅓ innings with 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, and 2 earned runs, but they were unearned due to errors. Subsequently, Jae Young Song pitched 1⅓ innings allowing 1 hit, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts without giving up any earned runs, and Jun Woo Park pitched 1⅓ innings with 1 hit, 1 walk, and 1 strikeout, also with no earned runs. The performance of veteran pitcher Kim San Soo, who allowed 3 earned runs in 1 inning, was somewhat disappointing.

In his fourth year, foreign pitcher Barnes was disappointing and could not gain an edge in the ace matchup while the defense repeatedly committed errors. Meanwhile, the lineup, which was said to have grown last year, repeated past failures. They find consolation in the struggles of the younger pitchers. This year's opening game was a condensed version of the 'despair chapter' that Lotte wished to avoid. It was an opening game that could not have been worse. It confirmed why Lotte struggles to be a contender for the top five.

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