The professional baseball LG Twins will face off against the Kiwoom Heroes on the 9th at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.
LG announced its starting lineup for the day, featuring Shin Min-jae (second baseman), Cheon Seong-ho (third baseman), Kim Hyun-soo (left fielder), Moon Bo-gyeong (first baseman), Moon Sung-ju (right fielder), Park Dong-won (designated hitter), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Lee Ju-heon (catcher), and Park Hae-min (center fielder). Park Dong-won will serve as the designated hitter, and Lee Ju-heon will play as the catcher.
Cheon Seong-ho, acquired in a trade with KT, has recently made five consecutive starts as the second third baseman. Foreign batter Austin is expected to be sidelined for 3 to 4 weeks due to an iliopsoas injury, prompting Moon Bo-gyeong to move from third base to first base. Cheon Seong-ho is getting a chance at third base.
Manager Yeom noted about Cheon Seong-ho's second positioning, "It's not just bad. If we continue to give opportunities, there are players who may still feel they are fast, and there are players who will improve if given chances. I think Seong-ho can gain value for the investment through that experience if we continue to support him. Now it's up to the coaching staff to make that judgment. The opportunities given should be helpful for both the player and the team."
The left-handed Cheon Seong-ho has recorded 1 hit in 14 at-bats against left-handed pitchers this season, with a batting average of .071. The starting pitcher for Kiwoom on this day is left-handed rookie Jung Hyun-woo.
Manager Yeom said, "In the future, if we are going to use him, we need to see how he responds to left-handed pitchers. We need to observe what kind of reactions come out, and only then can we find ways to attack left-handed pitchers. He went up to face left-handed pitchers in a previous game but couldn't get a hit.
He explained, "The hitting part has conveyed what strategy we should have at the plate against left-handed pitchers and how we should approach it. Instead of thinking the same way as against right-handed pitchers, we need to adjust our strategy slightly when facing left-handed pitchers. We've communicated this, so we need to see how he adapts."
Gu Bon-hyeok, a strong defensive right-handed batter, may start as the third baseman instead of Cheon Seong-ho. However, Gu Bon-hyeok has faced a physical burden recently due to a high inning count as a near-starter since the beginning of the season. His batting average against left-handed pitchers stands at .182 (12 hits in 66 at-bats), which is lower than his average against right-handed pitchers (.269).
Cheon Seong-ho's usage at third base is somewhat experimental. Manager Yeom said, "We are giving Bo-gyeong a bit of a break, while there have been many evaluations that Seong-ho couldn't play third base for a while. By playing third base, he gains confidence and now opens a new position for himself. This means Seong-ho has added one more position, and the team now has one more card. In the later stages of the game, we use Bon-hyeok as a defensive substitution. If a critical mistake is made at a decisive moment, what has been good until now can be lost in an instant."
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