Professional baseball Doosan Bears foreign hitter Jake Cave has taken on the role of lead-off for his KBO League debut.
Doosan unveiled its starting lineup for the home game against the Samsung Lions, which will take place at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on the 3rd. The most notable aspect is Cave's placement in the first position. In his KBO League debut this season, Cave has achieved a batting average of .347 (33 hits in 95 at-bats), with 2 home runs, 16 RBIs, 13 runs, 6 stolen bases, and an OPS of 0.891.
Manager Lee Seung-yup noted regarding Cave's lead-off usage that it is for the purpose of "changing the atmosphere," expressing hope that he will "open up scoring routes." The recent poor performance of Jeong Soo-bin, who had been the lead-off hitter, with a batting average of .222 over the last 10 games, seems to have also played a role.
Doosan's starting lineup consists of right fielder Jake Cave, left fielder Kim In-tae, catcher Yang Eui-ji, designated hitter Kim Jae-hwan, first baseman Yang Seok-hwan, second baseman Kang Seung-ho, shortstop Park Jun-young, third baseman Lim Jong-seong, and center fielder Jeong Soo-bin.
Meanwhile, Manager Lee Seung-yup expressed consistent confidence in Kang Seung-ho, who had a career high season last year with 18 home runs, stating, "It is about time for him to improve." Up until the day of the game, Kang's performance fell short of expectations, recording a batting average of .197 with 23 hits in 117 at-bats, along with 1 home run, 8 RBIs, and 16 runs. Manager Lee has been carefully monitoring Kang, adjusting his batting order and position to help him regain his form.
On the other hand, Samsung's starting lineup consists of shortstop Lee Jae-hyun, center fielder Kim Seong-yoon, left fielder Koo Ja-wook, first baseman Lewin Diaz, catcher Kang Min-ho, designated hitter Park Byung-ho, second baseman Ryu Ji-hyuk, third baseman Jeon Byeong-woo, and right fielder Kim Tae-geun. Foreign pitcher Denny Reyes will take the mound as the starter.
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