'Excluding the Only .400 Hitter' SSG Makes Bold Lineup Change; An Sang-hyun and Choi Jun-woo Fill Park Sung-han's Spot [Incheon Field Report]

*This content was translated by AI.

Park Sung-han (28, SSG Landers), the only player in the KBO League batting over .400, has been left out. An Sang-hyun (29) will take his place.

On the 3rd, SSG excluded Park Sung-han from the starting lineup for the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League home game against the Lotte Giants at Incheon SSG Landers Field.

For this game, SSG set its starting lineup as follows: An Sang-hyun (shortstop), Jung Jun-jae (second baseman), Choi Jeong (third baseman), Guillermo Heredia (left fielder), Oh Tae-gon (third baseman), Choi Ji-hoon (center fielder), Ryu Hyo-seung (designated hitter), Jo Hyung-woo (catcher), and Choi Jun-woo (right fielder). Baek Seung-geon will make his first start of the season as the starting pitcher.

Although the series outcome is already decided, SSG is not overreaching. Manager Lee Sung-yong (55), who had initially indicated that Park Sung-han would be rested if his consecutive hit streak ended, showed consideration to allow Park, who has played without rest since the season opener, to take a break today.

Manager Lee explained, "Sung-han is being prepared for later. Depending on the situation, he might come in as a pinch hitter."

Park Sung-han has appeared in all 29 games played by his team this season, batting .436 (110 at-bats, 48 hits) with 3 home runs, 25 RBIs, and 27 runs scored. His on-base percentage is .533, slugging percentage is .627, and OPS (on-base plus slugging) is 1.160. He set a new KBO League record with 22 consecutive games with a hit since the season opener. In April alone, he recorded 42 hits in 93 at-bats, tying the franchise record for most hits in a single month (based on 100 or more plate appearances) and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Jung Geun-woo (April, 42 hits in 93 at-bats, .433 batting average) from 2009.

Although Park Sung-han was approaching a .500 batting average, his average dropped to .269 over the 7th games following the end of his 22-game consecutive hit streak. His season batting average also fell from .488 to .436. Manager Lee judged this to be the right time to rest Park.

An Sang-hyun will fill the spot. Manager Lee had previously indicated that An was essential to rest Park Sung-han and Choi Jeong, classifying An as an infield utility player. While An's batting, with a .310 average (42 at-bats, 13 hits), has raised expectations for a career high, his defense early in the season showed some room for improvement. However, he has established himself as an indispensable infielder, capable of playing second base, third base, and shortstop. As this is his first start at shortstop this season, how well he can demonstrate stable defense will be crucial.

Han Yu-seom is also being rested. Manager Lee stated, "Yu-seom has been inconsistent, so today we plan to use Ryu Hyo-seung and Choi Jun-woo, and bring in players who have been coming up from the minors." He added, "We thought Yu-seom would be getting a chance after performing well in the three-game series against Hanwha, but when the count got full, he started swinging as if being chased."

Regarding Choi Jun-woo, who is starting at right field today, the manager said, "He originally had talent in contact hitting and batting. He transitioned from infield to outfield starting last year, and his outfield defense is not bad. I thought it was right to use the player with the best balance at this moment."

Choi Jun-woo is batting .500 (12 at-bats, 6 hits) this season. Ryu Hyo-seung, who showed promise as a power-hitting prospect late last season, went 0-for-4 in two games but has been given another start opportunity today.

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*This content was translated by AI.