"Yang Hyun-jong doesn't like Daegu very much..."

KIA Tigers manager Lee Beom-ho noted prior to the game against Suwon KT Wiz on the 20th, "We changed the starting pitcher from James Nail to Yang Hyun-jong on the 22nd. Nail will pitch against the Daegu Samsung Lions on the 23rd."

Initially, KIA was supposed to face the Samsung Lions in Daegu after playing against KT with Yoon Young-chul, Oller, and Nail in succession starting from the 20th, but with the change to Yang Hyun-jong on the 22nd, a significant change occurred in the starting rotation. The plan was for Yang Hyun-jong, Kim Do-hyun, and Yoon Young-chul to take the mound against the Samsung Lions.

On the 17th, KIA's James Nail and Yang Hyun-jong pitched in a doubleheader against Doosan Bears in Gwangju, with Nail starting the first game and Yang Hyun-jong pitching the second. The schedule had anticipated Nail pitching on the 22nd after a four-day rest and Yang Hyun-jong on the 23rd after a five-day rest, but manager Lee Beom-ho changed the order of the two players. What could be the reason for this?

Manager Lee Beom-ho said, "Yang Hyun-jong pitched on the same day as Nail, but he doesn't like Daegu very much. And this time, I want to separate Nail and Oller a bit. Nail will pitch on Friday in Daegu."

The reason Yang Hyun-jong doesn't like Daegu can be found in the records. Daegu Samsung Lions Park (La Park), known for being a hitter-friendly venue in professional baseball, opened in 2016, and Yang Hyun-jong has made 12 starts there, with a record of 3 wins and 6 losses and an earned run average of 6.94 (46 earned runs in 59⅔ innings). Over the past 10 years, it has been the venue where he has given up the most home runs (16). Coincidentally, during the 2023 season, he did not pitch at La Park at all.

In fact, KIA's opening rotation for this season was Nail, Yang Hyun-jong, Oller, Yoon Young-chul, and Kim Do-hyun. However, due to a rainout, Oller was scheduled to pitch on the 13th and Nail on the 15th, leading to both foreign pitchers starting on consecutive days until the 17th. With this reorganization, KIA has created a rotation similar to the initial schedule of Oller, Yang Hyun-jong, Nail, Kim Do-hyun, and Yoon Young-chul.

Accordingly, KIA will finish the Suwon KT series with Oller on the 21st and Yang Hyun-jong on the 22nd before moving to Daegu on the 23rd to start the weekend series with ace Nail.

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