'Oops,' another injury strikes as a key lineup member is sidelined; a 'second-year pro' is suddenly called up to the first division and immediately starts as the leadoff hitter! [Gocheok]

*This content was translated by AI.

Park Ju-hong (25), who had been leading the Heroes' offense recently, has been sidelined due to an injury.

A Kiwoom official announced on the 1st, ahead of the home game against the Doosan Bears at Seoul's Gocheok Sky Dome, that "Park Ju-hong suffered a sprain in his left index finger during a steal attempt in the top of the first inning of the away game against the Lotte Giants at Busan's Sajik Baseball Stadium on the 30th of last month, and was excluded from the starting lineup."

Prior to this game, Park Ju-hong had appeared in 22 games this season, recording a batting average of 0.275 (69 at-bats, 19 hits), 2 home runs, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 7 RBIs, 8 runs scored, 7 walks, 2 hit-by-pitches, and 20 strikeouts, with a slugging percentage of 0.464, on-base percentage of 0.375, OPS (on-base plus slugging), a batting average of 0.188 with runners in scoring position, and a batting average of 0.500 as a pinch hitter.

Selected in the first round of the 2020 rookie draft, Park Ju-hong was placed in the leadoff spot from the game against the NC Dinos on the 21st of last month through the game against the Samsung Lions on the 26th, taking on the role of leading the Kiwoom offense. However, Park Ju-hong was not completely excluded from the roster this time; the team decided to monitor the situation for now.

Ahead of the game against Doosan, Kiwoom manager Seol Jong-jin stated, "It appears his thumb was slightly sprained. He can still hit, but he needs to use his left hand for fielding. Since he cannot throw properly, he was excluded from today's (1st) lineup."

Kiwoom started with Ha Young-min on the mound. The batting order was set as follows: Jeon Tae-hyun (left fielder), Brooks (designated hitter), An Chi-hong (second baseman), Choi Ju-hwan (first baseman), Im Byung-wook (right fielder), Park Soo-jong (center fielder), Kim Dong-heon (catcher), Yang Hyeon-jong (third baseman), and Oh Sun-jin (shortstop).

There was also a slight change in the first-division roster. Infielders Jeon Tae-hyun (20) and Kwon Hyuk-bin were added to the first-division roster, while Kim Ji-seok and Choi Jae-young were removed from it.

Manager Seol immediately started Jeon Tae-hyun upon calling him up to the first division. Regarding Jeon Tae-hyun, he explained, "He has good contact ability. The priority is for him to come alive in the leadoff spot, so we placed him there." Jeon Tae-hyun, who graduated from Yangdeok Elementary, Masan Dong Middle, and Yongma High School, was drafted by Kiwoom in the fifth round, 41st overall, in the 2025 rookie draft. Last season, he appeared in 77 games, posting a batting average of 0.231, 10 RBIs, 20 runs scored, a slugging percentage of 0.258, and an on-base percentage of 0.304.

Meanwhile, facing Kiwoom, the Doosan Bears will start with Choi Min-seok. Their batting order is Park Chan-ho (shortstop), Cameron (right fielder), Park Jun-soon (second baseman), Yang Eui-ji (designated hitter), Kim Min-seok (left fielder), Ahn Jae-seok (third baseman), Jung Soobin (center fielder), Oh Myung-jin (first baseman), and Kim Ki-yeon (catcher).

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.