Charlie Barnes (29), a foreign pitcher who had served as the ace for the Lotte Giants before leaving, returned to the mound for the first time in a long time. He did not have any problem with his pitching result or physical condition.핑크알바

Barnes took the mound as Lotte's starting pitcher in the 2024 Mediheal Futures League home game against the KT Wiz at Sangdong Baseball Stadium in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, on the 28th.

In the top of the first inning, Barnes struck out three pitches to Kim Byung-joon, the first batter. He also struck out the second batter, Yoon Joon-hyuk, and easily finished the first inning by hitting a fly ball to the second baseman in just four pitches.

After taking the mound again in the second inning, Barnes grounded out leadoff hitter Kang Min-seong. However, he threw a two-seam fastball in the count in favor of No. 5 An Chi-young 0-2 strikes and gave up a hit ball. The next batter, Cho Dae-hyun, even had a foil and sent a runner to second base, but he regained stability. After striking out Cho Dae-hyun, he also swung a fly to first base to end the inning without losing a point.

On the day, Barnes finished pitching without allowing any hit, one out and three strikeouts in two innings. According to Lotte, the maximum speed of his fastball was 145 kilometers. Throwing a total of 21 pitches, he pitched a total of 31 pitches if he threw 10 more pitches in the bullpen.

"Based on his stable ball control, he quickly competed against left-handed hitters and right-handed hitters with changeups, which allowed him to make mistakes," a team official said of Barnes' pitch. "The two-seam fastball that he threw towards the left-handed batter fell out of his hand and allowed the ball to hit his body, but the overall pitching was perfect," he said. "He has no pain in his injured area and he is said to be in good condition."

"I heard it was okay," Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung said of Barnes' pitching. "I'm planning for the second half. It will come out soon," he said, hinting at his return after the All-Star break.

In his third year in the KBO league this year, Barnes has won three games and lost two games with an ERA of 3.55 in 11 games this season. In particular, he struck out 79 times in 63 ⅓ innings, ranking first in this category before leaving (tied for 11th as of July 27). Although he was a bit shaky at the beginning of the season, he has been stabilizing himself by recording an ERA of 2.60 and 38 strikeouts (27 ⅔) in five games since May.

However, he started against Sajik Samsung on May 26, but suddenly called the coaching staff after giving up a walk to Kim Ji-chan in the second inning. Pitcher coach Joo Hyung-kwang and trainer went up to the mound to check the condition, and Barnes suddenly left the mound. Later, the next day, a hospital examination revealed that he was diagnosed with micro-damage to his left adductor muscle, which was eventually removed from the first-team entry.

Initially, it was expected that he could return in two to three weeks, but the rehabilitation schedule became longer than expected. Coach Kim said earlier on the 26th that "Barnes continues to go as scheduled without a hitch." And he is nearing a return one step by playing in the actual game for the first time.