'Last-place' Lotte Unveils Shocking Lineup! → Coach Kim Tae-hyung Offers Meaningful Remark: "Our Team Lacks a Core Batting Order..." Two Key Players Absent [Incheon Field Report]

*This content was translated by AI.

The Lotte Giants have introduced a shocking lineup in an effort to continue their recent upward momentum.

Lotte will face the SSG Landers in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season home game at Incheon SSG Landers Field at 2 p.m. on the 2nd.

The day before (on the 1st), Lotte secured a 10-7 victory over SSG after a grueling 10-inning extra-inning battle. With this win, Lotte improved to 10 wins, 1 tie, and 17 losses. The team currently sits at the bottom of the league standings.

For today's game, Lotte set the starting batting order as follows: Jeon Doo-seong (center field), Yoon Dong-hee (right field), Reyes (left field), Yoo Gangnam (designated hitter), Kim Min-seong (first baseman), Park Seung-wook (third baseman), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), Son Seong-bin (catcher), and Han Tae-yang (second baseman). The starting pitcher is Na Gyun-an.

Notably absent from the starting lineup are Jeon Jun-woo and Han Dong-hee.

First, Jeon Jun-woo has appeared in 27 games this season, recording a batting average of 0.206 (21 hits in 102 at-bats), 2 home runs, 7 RBIs, 8 runs scored, 0 stolen bases (1 failed), 9 walks, 14 strikeouts, a slugging percentage of 0.284, an on-base percentage of 0.268, an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.552, and a batting average with runners in scoring position of 0.143.

Additionally, Han Dong-hee has appeared in 23 games this season, posting a batting average of 0.241 (21 hits in 87 at-bats), 0 home runs, 4 RBIs, 5 runs scored, 1 stolen base (0 failed), 4 walks, 1 hit by pitch, 18 strikeouts, a slugging percentage of 0.287, an on-base percentage of 0.283, an OPS of 0.570, and a batting average with runners in scoring position of 0.160. It is true that both Jeon Jun-woo and Han Dong-hee have posted somewhat disappointing statistics for players expected to serve as the team's core hitters.

Ahead of today's game, Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung explained, "In fact, Han Dong-hee should be the one playing at the designated hitter spot rather than Jeon Jun-woo. (Jeon) Jun-woo has been playing continuously, but it is true that he has not been hitting well. (Yoo) Gangnam has been tracking the ball well, so we placed him at the designated hitter position."

He continued, "While they are performing well in the lower part of the lineup, a strong team requires a strong core batting order. The lower lineup is inconsistent. The team becomes stronger only when the core lineup performs. Reyes is also getting hits, but his batting feel does not appear to be very good. Noh Jin-hyuk's pace has also dropped significantly." Adding a meaningful remark with a smile, the manager said, "Thinking about it, our team lacks a core batting order."

Na Gyun-an, who is set to start today, has recorded 2 losses with no wins this season and an ERA of 2.28. Over a total of 27 2/3 innings, he has allowed 23 hits (2 home runs), issued 9 walks, recorded 20 strikeouts, and allowed 9 runs (7 earned). His WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) is 1.16, and his batting average against is 0.230. This is his first appearance against Lotte this season.

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*This content was translated by AI.