After a successful rebound in June, the Kiwoom Heroes’ troubles are deepening. This is because the number of players who left the team due to injuries has increased.

In May, veteran outfielder Lee Yong-kyu was sidelined for two months with a right wrist sprain, and on May 23, foreign-born outfielder Edison Russell was placed on the disabled list with left wrist pain. Infielder Kim Hui-jip was removed from the first team roster on June 26 with a hamstring injury.

In addition, veteran pitcher Won Jong-hyun was expunged from the first team roster on June 7 due to right elbow ligament damage, and Lee Won-seok, who was hit by a Warriors pitch in a home game against the NC Dinos on June 4, ended the first half early for protection as the aftermath lingered.

With the loss of so many key players in such a short period of time, Kiwoom was forced to take a step back from the mid-table race as they fell into a four-game losing streak.안전놀이터

When asked about the absence of Russell and Kim, Kiwoom head coach Hong Won-ki said, “The absence of the two players does not mean that the batting lineup is not good right now. Since the beginning of the season, there are only a few games that we have won with an active offense, so we are not backed up by our offense.” “I think we are struggling in the middle of the pack because our starting pitchers have a lot of quality starts, but we are not getting many wins,” he diagnosed.

“It would be nice if the offense could hit every day, but I think there are cycles when you play for a year. However, when the pitchers are doing a good job, the bats explode, and when the pitchers are struggling, the bats step up, and it’s a good game, but there have been a lot of games this year where the pitchers have pitched well into the seventh inning, but we haven’t been able to score in scoring position and lose.”

The good news is that Russell’s return is imminent. “I think he’ll be able to join us for the last game of the first half (against KT on the 13th) at the earliest,” Hong Won-ki said of Russell’s return.

Russell, who is batting .286 with four home runs, 42 RBIs and a .739 OPS in 59 games this season, has been the “go-to” guy in crunch time, with a .415 batting average in scoring position. Given the current state of the team, Russell’s addition is a definite plus.

However, it will take some time for the other players to return. “Kim Hui-jip’s hamstring injury is going to be a little longer than we thought, and Won Jong-hyun’s injury is not as good as we thought,” said Hong Won-ki. Lee Yong-kyu is reported to be available for the second half of the season.”

Kiwoom, which is trying to end its four-game losing streak, has lined up Lee Hyung-jong (right fielder), Kim Hye-sung (second baseman), Lee Jeong-hoo (center fielder), Lim Ji-yeol (left fielder), Park Chan-hyuk (designated hitter), Song Sung-moon (third baseman), Kim Su-hwan (first baseman), Kim Joo-hyung (shortstop), and Lee Ji-young (catcher). The starting pitcher is Ahn Woo-jin.