Lotte ace Na Gyun-ahn shakes off elbow injury to return to action

카지노사이트Lotte Giants’ homegrown ace Na Kyun-ahn, 25, will make his first start in 13 days after shaking off an elbow injury.

Na will start against the Hanwha Eagles of the 2023 Shinhan Bank Solar KBO League on 4 April at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon.

It will be his first start in 13 days since 21 March against the Suwon KT Wiz.

After being roughed up for six runs on 10 hits in five innings in that game, Na complained of elbow discomfort afterwards and was removed from the first-team roster on the 22nd of last month after tests revealed inflammation of the medial aspect of his right elbow.

He quickly recovered from the injury and joined the rehabilitation group to prepare for his return, missing only one start before returning.

Despite the absence of their ace, Lotte’s starting pitching staff held up well. In the nine games since the 22-day absence, Lotte’s starting ERA has been a respectable 2.96, with Park Se-woong, who along with Na Kyun-ahn leads Lotte’s homegrown starters, pitching strongly in two outings.

Jung Sung-jong, who was given the opportunity to replace Na Kyun-ahn, showed promise on the 27th of the same month, pitching four innings of two-hit ball against the Sajik Samsung Lions.

Na’s return is a big boost for Lotte.

Na Gyun-ahn, who made his pitching debut with the first team in 2021 after being converted to a reliever in 2020, is in full bloom in his third year. In 14 games, he went 6-2 with a 3.14 ERA.

He was particularly impressive in the month of April, going 4-0 with a 1.34 ERA in five games, earning him his first ever Monthly Player of the Month (MVP) award.

After a slight lull in his win total since May, Na Gyun-ahn is aiming for his seventh win of the season in his return from injury.

Lotte has had a series of injured players return, starting with Na Kyun-ahn. The return of Choi Jun-yong, a key resource in the bullpen, is imminent, and starting shortstop Noh Jin-hyuk is expected to join him before the end of the first half.

After battling for the top spot through May, Lotte faltered in June, going 9-16 and slipping to fourth place. With the mood sagging, the team seemed to be on the verge of a crisis, with rumours of a manager-coach feud.

However, Lotte coach Larry Sutton is hoping for a rebound in July when key players who were sidelined by injury return. Na Kyun-ahn will be at the forefront.