Professional baseball player Shin Woo-jun (30), shortstop for Hanwha Eagles, has been excluded from the starting lineup due to a palm laceration.
Hanwha announced the lineup for the 3rd against NC, facing right-handed starter Shin Min-hyuk, with Lee Won-seok (center fielder), Luis Riberato (designated hitter), Moon Hyun-bin (left fielder), Roh Si-hwan (third baseman), Chae Eun-seong (first baseman), Yu Ro-gyeol (right fielder), Ha Ju-suk (shortstop), Choi Jae-hun (catcher), and Lee Do-yoon (second baseman). The starting pitcher was sidearm pitcher Um Sang-baek.
Due to his absence, starting shortstop Shin Woo-jun was replaced in the lineup. On the previous day (2nd) against NC, he dived to catch a line drive by Oh Young-soo in the 5th inning, resulting in a palm laceration that bled, and he received treatment briefly before continuing to play. However, as balls continued to come toward shortstop after that and he dove for them, the pain worsened, leading to his replacement with Lee Do-yoon after one out in the 9th inning.
Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon noted in an interview before the game on the 3rd regarding Shin Woo-jun's exclusion from the starting lineup, "He says he is fine, but he slid six times yesterday. I think it would be better to wait and then bring him in later as a defensive substitute or pinch runner rather than starting him. There were many tiny stones on the infield. After diving a few times, he got hurt, but I'm glad he says he's okay."
With Shin Woo-jun being out, Ha Ju-suk, who started at second base for the first time in 12 years the previous day, will take the shortstop position today. Ha Ju-suk handled five ground ball outs at second base reliably. Manager Kim Kyung-moon said, "There was nothing wrong with his defense yesterday. He will play both second base and shortstop moving forward."
After suffering a scoreless defeat the previous day, with no hits in 8 at-bats in scoring positions, Hanwha also made adjustments to the batting order. Lee Jin-young, who had batted first in nine consecutive games since the match against Lotte on the 19th of last month, has been dropped from the lineup, while Lee Won-seok will now lead off.
In place of Lee Jin-young, Yu Ro-gyeol has seized his first starting opportunity of the season as the sixth batter. Although Yu Ro-gyeol had a batting average of .125 (1 hit in 8 at-bats) in 14 games this season, he excelled in the Futures League with a .289 batting average (39 hits in 135 at-bats), 8 home runs, 28 RBIs, and an OPS of .911 over 35 games.
Manager Kim Kyung-moon said, "If we can't hit even at the first position, we have concerns about all batting orders. Yesterday, we didn't hit against a domestic pitcher (Mok Ji-hoon). All batters need to step up in the remaining 7 games of the first half," and added, "We need to have a strong attack to head to Gocheok Sky Dome for the weekend series against Kiwoom."
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