"I can't see any room for improvement" I warned, but 1.9 billion aces collapsed again..."ERA 5.32 → In front of last place." Lotte, are you making a decision?

"I can't see any room for improvement" I warned, but 1.9 billion aces collapsed again..."ERA 5.32 → In front of last place." Lotte, are you making a decision?

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Lotte Giants Charlie Barnes started the home showdown between the team and the NC Dinos in the 2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 4th, and was sluggish with seven hits (two home runs), three walks, three strikeouts and five runs (five earned) in five ⅓ innings.메이저놀이터

Barnes, who wore Lotte's uniform in 2022, was reborn as an ace at once, with 12 wins and 12 losses and a 3.62 ERA in 31 games in his first season. For Lotte, there was no reason not to renew his contract, and Barnes continued his excellent performance in 2023 with 11 wins, 10 losses and a 3.28 ERA in 30 games for Lotte. However, Barnes began to change slightly last year.

Barnes, who was stronger to left-handed hitters than right-handed hitters even in his first and second seasons as a member of the KBO League, began to noticeably weaken to left-handed hitters from 2023. In the end, he suffered injuries and only recorded 9 wins, 6 losses and an ERA of 3.35 in 25 games last year. However, Lotte decided that Barnes would be able to rebound enough and offered a total of 1.5 million dollars (about 2.1 billion won, guaranteed $1.35 million) in contract prior to this season.

Barnes has been disappointing this season, however. Except for the first season since his debut, Barnes had difficulties every year in the early stages of the season, but this year it is too long. Notably, his jags are too long. Barnes had three quality stars+ (three earned runs or fewer in seven innings) in seven games before taking the mound on Friday, but in four other games, he allowed as many as 22 runs (18 earned runs) while pitching 19 ⅓ innings, which was not very good.

When asked about Barnes after allowing six runs (four earned runs) in five innings at the match against the Hanwha Eagles on June 23, Kim said, "I have bad pitching capabilities. Foreign players should just show them. The first starter has to pay the bill. Barnes' ball capability has dropped a lot. Notably, he only has 140 kilometers to play after three innings." "I don't think there is any room to improve," he said, hinting at a possibility of replacement.

Since then, he has had two hits (one homer), six strikeouts and one run (one earned) in seven innings against the Kiwoom Heroes on Tuesday, and garnered his third win of the season. "I'm not that satisfied with the ball going," the head coach said. Most of Kiwoom's main players, including Yasiel Puig, were out due to injuries and sluggish performance. He added, "It's not all ball power, but the angle where the slider and changeup fall is flat."

With his position on the brink of collapse, Barnes took the mound against the NC Dinosaurs on Wednesday, but Barnes was again sluggish. Barnes allowed no runs in the first and second innings, but allowed no runs in the third inning for the first time. Barnes was shaken up when he grounded out leadoff hitter Park Si-won and gave up a walk to ninth batter Kim Han-byeol. Kwon Hee-dong hit a 131km changeup on the fourth pitch, hit a two-run homer to the left, and Kim Joo-won hit a back-to-back home run to donate three runs.

The opening game between the Lotte Giants and the LG Twins in the "2025 Shinhan SOL BANK KBO League" held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 22nd. Lotte starter Barnes takes off his hat after giving up a home run to LG Moon Bo-kyung with one out and a runner on the second base in the bottom of the first inning./My Daily

The loss continued. Barnes faced a crisis when he got a double from leadoff hitter Chun Jae-hwan in the top of the fourth inning, and gave up a timely hit to Kim Han-byeol with one out and a third base to mark his fourth run. Barnes ended the inning without additional runs and allowed no run in the fifth inning, but was forced to leave the mound after suffering a crisis with one out and three bases including a hit by leadoff hitter Chun Jae-hwan in the sixth inning. As Koo Seung-min, who took over the baton, allowed a run by the successor, he ended the game by allowing five runs in five ⅓ innings.

Currently, Lotte is competing for the top spot based on favorable conditions in the early days of the season. They say they will secure a ticket to the postseason no matter what. However, Barnes ranks 29th in ERA among 30 pitchers who met the regulation innings. His WHIP (On-base allowed per inning) is also 1.40, ranking only 25th in the league. Will Lotte and Barnes continue to be accompanied by each other? It is time for Lotte to make a decision not to set a new disgraceful record.