The professional baseball LG Twins will play their final game of the weekend three-game series against the KIA Tigers on the 29th at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. With each team having won one game and lost one, the match has implications for a winning streak.
The two teams engaged in a slugfest in the previous day's (28th) game, exchanging 31 hits. LG recorded 17 hits and 8 runs, while KIA had 14 hits and 9 runs.
LG registered infielder Oh Ji-hwan and pitcher Ham Deok-joo to the first team roster. Pitcher Kim Sung-woo and catcher Kim Sung-woo were sent down to the second team.
Oh Ji-hwan was placed on the injured list due to an ankle sprain and hitting struggles on the 9th. He returned to the first team after 20 days. In the games against the Futures League Samsung Lions on the 27th and 28th, he had 7 at-bats, 4 hits (including 1 double), 1 walk, 1 RBI, and 2 runs.
LG revealed the starting lineup: Shin Min-jae (second baseman), Kim Hyun-soo (designated hitter), Austin (first baseman), Moon Bo-gyeong (third baseman), Moon Sung-ju (left fielder), Park Dong-won (catcher), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Choi Won-young (right fielder), and Park Hae-min (center fielder).
Oh Ji-hwan will start as the shortstop upon his return to the first team. LG's key hitters Austin, Moon Bo-gyeong, and Park Dong-won are gradually raising their batting average. In the previous day's game, Austin recorded a double, while Moon Bo-gyeong came in as a pinch hitter and recorded a three-run home run along with a multi-hit game. Park Dong-won achieved 2 hits in 4 at-bats, also a multi-hit game (including 1 double).
LG's starting pitcher is Choi Ri-nos. He has recorded 7 wins, 3 losses, and an earned run average of 3.21 in 16 games this season. He won his previous match against KIA, pitching 7 innings and allowing only 1 run.
Ham Deok-joo, who underwent two elbow surgeries last January and November after the season's end, has finally returned to the first team. A key player in the 2023 championship, Ham signed a free agent contract with LG worth up to 3.8 billion won (including a signing bonus of 600 million won, a total salary of 1.4 billion won, and incentives of 1.8 billion won).
In January 2024, he underwent surgery for a subtle fracture of the left elbow, followed by a pin fixation. After completing rehabilitation, he returned to the first team in August of last year, recording 15 games (11⅔ innings), 1 loss, and 3 holds, with an earned run average of 5.40. After the 2024 season, he underwent surgery to remove the pins from the left elbow and to eliminate bone spurs in November.
On the 27th, Ham Deok-joo pitched as a relief pitcher in the Futures League game against the Samsung Lions held at Icheon LG Champions Park, recording 1 inning, allowing 2 hits and 1 run. Prior to this, he had pitched in the Futures League on the 12th and 18th, each time recording 1 inning without allowing any runs. In total, he has appeared in 3 Futures League games, pitching 3 innings, allowing 2 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run.
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