Lotte must-win duo is finally returning! Manager Kim Tae-hyung said, "Choi Jun-yong will take the mound today, and Kim Won-joong will also appear twice" [the scene of Busan]

*This content was translated by AI.

The Lotte Giants must-win duo, who left due to a side injury, will finally return.

Lotte announced its starting lineup ahead of the home game against the Doosan Bears in the 2026 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League exhibition game at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 19th.

On this day, Lotte formed the lineup of Han Tae-yang (second baseman), Son Ho-young (center fielder), Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Jeon Jun-woo (left fielder), Yoo Kang-nam (designated hitter), Jeon Min-jae (striker), Noh Jin-hyuk (first baseman), Son Sung-bin (catcher), and Lee Seo-jun (third baseman). The starting pitcher is Kim Jin-wook.

Rookie infielder Lee Seo-joon will start for the second consecutive day. Before the game, Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung said, "He's better than I thought. He praised the opponent's pitcher as a left-hander today, but added, "I don't know the defense now." He is good at catching just fine balls. He expressed reservations, saying, "There are no mistakes for sure."

There was some good news. Choi Joon-yong (25) and Kim Won-joong (33), who left last winter due to traffic accidents and injuries during training, respectively, will appear in exhibition games. Choi Jun-yong joined from the Japanese camp in February due to a sprained right rib cartilage during training in January.

Kim Won-joong's situation is more serious, so he suffered a traffic accident with 100% of the opponent's negligence in December last year and left due to a microfracture of the right rib. Fortunately, he prepared to return without much difficulty.

Coach Kim Tae-hyung said, "Choi Jun-yong is throwing today. Throw about three games and go into the regular season. Kim Won-joong also said, "We have a schedule for one or two games."

Meanwhile, Victor Reyes was not included in the starting lineup on the day due to a slight tightness in his calf muscles. Jeon Jun-woo, who will also play in the outfield defense this season, was placed instead.

Currently, Lotte is the only undefeated team with four wins and two draws in the exhibition game. One of the reasons is that the defense has become more solid. In response, the head coach gave credit to defensive coach Moon Kyu-hyun.

Coach Kim Tae-hyung said, "Defence will also have results from training, but bounding or such things seem to be done with instantaneous reflexes or senses during the game," but added, "Coach Moon Kyu-hyun played a lot of funkos in the winter. I think I hit three times more than other coaches," he said.

"They're all the same coaches, but there's something physically more difficult about the defensive coach. When I go to the camp, I really hit hundreds of pungos a day, so I asked the club to pay attention," he said with a smile.

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*This content was translated by AI.