KIA announces "changes" in today's (19th) starting lineup against Doosan. Why? "The performance against left-handed and right-handed batters is too different," explains manager Lee Beom-ho. [Jamsil Field]

*This content was translated by AI.

The KIA Tigers, whose winning streak was snapped at '8' the previous day (18th), are now challenging for the winning series.

KIA will face the Doosan Bears in an away regular-season game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium at 2 p.m. on the 19th.

KIA defeated Doosan 7-3 in the first game of a three-game weekend series on the 17th. However, they lost 4-5 in a 10-inning extra-inning game the previous day, ending their winning streak.

For today's game, KIA has set its starting lineup in the following order: Park Jae-hyun (right field), Lee Ho-yeon (first base), Kim Do-young (third base), Castro (left field), Na Sung-beom (designated hitter), Han Jun-soo (catcher), Kim Ho-ryeong (center field), Jung Hyun-chang (shortstop), and Kim Gyu-seong (second base).

Compared to the previous day, Dale, who started as the leadoff hitter, has been excluded from the starting roster. Jung Hyun-chang has taken over the starting shortstop role in Dale's place. Additionally, with Park Min out, Lee Ho-yeon has been newly added to the starting lineup.

Ahead of the game, KIA manager Lee Beom-ho met with reporters and explained, "(Doosan) pitcher Choi Min-seok has a significant disparity in performance against left-handed and right-handed batters. He is difficult for right-handed batters to hit against, and his batting average allowed against right-handed batters is very low. However, his batting average allowed against left-handed batters is high. Therefore, we have arranged the lineup primarily with left-handed hitters. (Kim) Sun-bin should be used as a pinch hitter. (He was hit by a pitch on the leg) and it seems the hit side is uncomfortable. "

Although the sample size for this season is small, he has posted a batting average allowed of 0.167 against left-handed batters and 0.095 against right-handed batters. Last season, his batting average allowed against left-handed batters was high at 0.294, while it was only 0.192 against right-handed batters.

The manager continued, "In Dale's case, after making a mistake (yesterday), he seems to have become somewhat burdened himself. He has played a lot of first base defense while playing in Japan. Yesterday, we changed his position just in case he felt burdened. For position players, we are currently in a situation where we must rotate them continuously. We hope that various players who take the field will be able to showcase their skills well. ", expressing his expectations.

KIA's starting pitcher is Yang Hyun-jong. Yang has appeared in three games this season, recording 1 win, 1 loss, and an ERA of 3.45. Over a total of 15⅔ innings, he has allowed 8 hits (1 home run), 8 walks, and 11 strikeouts, while allowing 6 runs (6 earned). His WHIP is 1.02, and his batting average allowed is 0.143, achieving strong results. This is the first time this season he will face Doosan.

Meanwhile, facing KIA, Doosan has set its starting lineup in the following order: Park Chan-ho (shortstop), Park Ji-hoon (third base), Park Jun-soon (second base), Yang Eui-ji (designated hitter), Kim Min-seok (left field), Kang Seung-ho (first base), Cameron (right field), Yoon Jun-ho (catcher), and Jeong Su-bin (center field). Their starting pitcher is Choi Min-seok.

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*This content was translated by AI.