* Translated by Papago

Starnews

"There's nothing wrong with Moon Bo-kyung."" LG, thank God! Only the selection was excluded... Lee Jae-won, a promising player, will appear instead of DH [the scene of Jamsil]

Published :
Kim Dongyoon

*This content was translated by AI.

"WBC Treasure" Moon Bo-kyung was replaced by a pinch runner at the end of the 7th inning complaining of pain in his thighs, putting him on alert. /Photo = Senior Reporter Kim Jin-kyung
"WBC Treasure" Moon Bo-kyung was replaced by a pinch runner at the end of the 7th inning complaining of pain in his thighs, putting him on alert. /Photo = Senior Reporter Kim Jin-kyung

LG Twins manager Yeom Kyung-yeop (58) breathed a sigh of relief at the healthy condition of the main third baseman Moon Bo-kyung (26).

Ahead of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season KIA Tigers at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 1st, manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said, "Moon Bo-kyung had an MRI this morning (1st). Fortunately, there was a clean opinion that there was no abnormality," he said.

On the previous day (March 31), the LG team experienced a dizzying moment. Moon Bo-kyung stepped on the third base and grabbed his right hamstring in the bottom of the seventh inning when LG was losing 0-7. Immediately, the LG trainer came out to check Moon Bo-kyung's condition and was replaced by Lee Young-bin. However, LG announced its intention to exclude Moon Bo-kyung from the starting lineup and manage him for the time being.

The starting lineup also consisted of Hong Chang-ki (right wing), Shin Min-jae (second baseman), Austin Dean (first baseman), Park Dong-won (captor), Moon Sung-joo (left wing), Oh Ji-hwan (striker), Koo Bon-hyuk (third baseman), Lee Jae-won (designated hitter), and Park Hae-min (middle fielder). The starting pitcher is Song Seung-ki. The starting pitcher for Kia is Yang Hyeon-jong.

Moon Bo-kyung is one of the key resources that LG cannot afford. In particular, at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), which concluded last month, he hit .438 (7 hits in 16 at-bats) with two homers, 11 RBIs and three runs scored, and OPS (On base rate + slugging rate) of 1.464 in five games, which was the most RBIs in a single WBC tournament. As a central hitter again this year, he gives a break to prevent a bigger injury than expected. Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop said, "I heard from training coach Kim Yong-il that it was a bad position. I think I should be careful because I keep sending signals (from my body). I think we need to delay the timing of our return to defense a little bit," he said.

The replacement is Lee Jae-won (27), a promising Uta slugger who returned from beating the Futures League last year. Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop said, "I don't want anything from Lee Jae-won. I tried to create an environment and situation where I can play well so that I can gain good experiences. There are many more conditions to fail if we don't help yet. He also said, "I'm trying to give you more success experiences through experience because giving you a chance doesn't help you."

Currently, LG is the only winless team with the Samsung Lions (1 draw and 2 losses) and the Kiwoom Hero (0-3 losses). As the starting pitchers collapsed one after another, the defending champion lost face. Coach Yeom said, "It seems to keep you alert from the sky. Baseball really doesn't go as I thought. Still, I think the team can do better through learning only when they have such a bad experience from the beginning. It's hard because we can only get on track and fight until early May, but I'm going to spend April without overdoing it," he stressed.

Song Seung-ki, who will be the starting pitcher on the day, will take his first appearance of the season. He slowly raised his body because there was no mound in the WBC and threw around 80 pitches on the same day. Fortunately, as bullpen pitchers show signs of reviving little by little, Song Seung-ki's heavy burden is also expected to ease a little. Manager Yeom said, "One thing I got (despite the sluggishness) is that I got to do a bullpen test. One will soon go down to Futures, but everyone wants to do really well now, so I'm thinking about who to get off."

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*This content was translated by AI.

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