Professional baseball player Kim Joo-sung (27) of the LG Twins had a tough day right after being called up to the first team.

Kim Joo-sung was called up to the first team ahead of the game against the SSG Landers in the '2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League' held on the 10th at Seoul's Jamsil Stadium. He was immediately given the opportunity to start as the No. 8 third baseman.

LG's starting shortstop Oh Ji-hwan demonstrated a poor performance this season, with a batting average of .218 (39 hits in 179 at-bats), 6 home runs, 26 RBIs, 23 runs, 5 stolen bases, and an OPS of .658. In particular, his recent 10-game batting average was .139 (4 hits in 29 at-bats), and his batting average in June dropped to .063 (1 hit in 16 at-bats).

Ultimately, LG manager Youm Kyoung-youb sent Oh Ji-hwan down to the second team on the 9th. Oh Ji-hwan and Son Yong-jun were removed from the first team roster, and Kim Joo-sung and Kim Min-soo were called up for that day's game. Kim Joo-sung then immediately made his name in the starting lineup.

Kim Joo-sung committed a critical error right from the start of the game. In the top of the first inning with two outs and a runner on second, starting pitcher Son Ju-yeong induced a ground ball from Ko Myung-jun towards the third baseman. Kim Joo-sung easily fielded the ball, but he made an absurd throwing error while trying to throw to first base. His throw sailed over the first baseman's head and hit the bullpen next to the dugout. During this time, the runner on second, Choi Ji-hoon, crossed home plate to score the first run.

After that, situations continued to unfold that made Kim Joo-sung uneasy. In the subsequent play with two outs and a runner on first, Guillermo Heredia hit a ball that struck Son Ju-yeong's leg hard. Son Ju-yeong left the mound, causing LG fans to gasp, but after receiving treatment in the dugout, he returned to the mound. Son Ju-yeong managed to get Park Seong-han out on a fly ball to right field, ending the inning without further runs.

Kim Joo-sung continued to experience unsettling moments. In the second inning, with one out and the bases loaded, he caught Ko Myung-jun's hit once but almost dropped it, which could have led to a major error. Fortunately, Kim Joo-sung quickly regained possession and made a throw home, preventing a run. In the fourth inning, with one out, he almost caught a sharp hit from Kim Seong-wook, but the ball bounced off his glove and he ultimately failed to make the throw. This hit was recorded as an infield single.

Struggling through the game, Kim Joo-sung was eventually replaced by Kim Min-soo at the start of the fifth inning and exited the game. He recorded no hits in two at-bats. The game ended in a 2-6 loss for LG, with Kim Joo-sung's error contributing to the decisive run.

Kim Joo-sung, who joined LG via the second round (14th pick) of the 2016 rookie draft, had performed well this year in the Futures League, with a batting average of .290 (29 hits in 100 at-bats), 1 home run, 8 RBIs, 19 runs, 7 stolen bases, and an OPS of .828. He hoped to carry over his good hitting form from the Futures League into this game, but struggled in defense and therefore did not have a notable performance at the plate.

Until the game, Kim Joo-sung had recorded a batting average of .263 (5 hits in 19 at-bats), 1 home run, 1 RBI, and 5 runs scored over his KBO League career spanning 33 games. Seizing a rare starting opportunity during this game, Kim Joo-sung ended up shaky due to the early errors.

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