'With' KIA, Hanwha is serious → 'Signing announcement' just one day before 'foreign investor' immediately starts as a starter! Cheerful Lee Beom-ho manager: "Parents need to be in a good mood on Children's Day to give gifts..." [Gwangju]

*This content was translated by AI.

KIA Tigers is utilizing all available forces to celebrate Children's Day. The manager also vowed victory with a cheerful sense of humor.

KIA will play a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season home game against Hanwha Eagles at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field at 2 p.m. on the 5th.

On this day, KIA set its starting lineup in the following order: Park Jae-hyun (left fielder), Kim Ho-ryeong (center fielder), Kim Seon-bin (second baseman), Kim Do-young (designated hitter), Adellin (first baseman), Na Sung-beom (right fielder), Dale (shortstop), Han Jun-soo (catcher), and Park Min (third baseman). The starting pitcher is Lee Ui-ri.

Most notably, Adellin is starting just one day after his signing announcement. Moreover, he is not starting as a designated hitter who only handles batting duties, but as a first baseman.

KIA previously announced on the 4th that it had signed Adellin Rodriguez as a replacement foreign hitter for Castro, stating, "We have signed Adellin for a contract period of six weeks with an annual salary of $50,000."

According to KIA officials, Adellin arrived in Korea on the 2nd.

Before the game, Lee Beom-ho, KIA's manager, said about Adellin, "Since the foreign player came as a first baseman, we will continue to use him at first base for the time being."

Regarding the condition of Kim Do-young, who was substituted due to back pain in the game on the 3rd, he explained, "We planned to rest him for today, but he said he could play enough as a designated hitter. Originally, we intended to start Adellin as the designated hitter and give Kim Do-young a rest, but since Kim Do-young is starting as the designated hitter, Adellin will play as a first baseman."

Adellin recorded a career batting average of 0.271 (4,619 at-bats, 1,254 hits), 215 home runs, 840 RBIs, 322 walks, 998 strikeouts, an on-base percentage of 0.325, a slugging percentage of 0.476, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.801 across 1,219 games in the U.S. minor leagues. In Triple-A, he played 236 games over three seasons, recording 258 hits, 60 home runs, 204 RBIs, 149 runs scored, a batting average of 0.296, and an OPS of 0.939. However, he never made it to the major leagues. In Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), he played 83 games over two seasons, recording 52 hits, 8 home runs, 34 RBIs, 16 runs scored, a batting average of 0.202, and an OPS of 0.606.

Additionally, KIA starter Lee Ui-ri has appeared in six games this season with a record of 1 win, 3 losses, and an ERA of 7.23. Over a total of 23 2/3 innings, he allowed 27 hits (5 home runs), issued 18 walks, recorded 25 strikeouts, and gave up 19 runs (19 earned runs), with an innings per baserunner allowed (WHIP) of 1.90 and a batting average against of 0.290. Against Hanwha this season, he pitched one game on the 11th of last month, throwing 4 innings, allowing 5 hits (1 home run), issuing 1 walk, recording 2 strikeouts, and giving up 4 runs (4 earned runs).

Manager Lee Beom-ho, welcoming Children's Day, said, "We are playing baseball in Gwangju again on Children's Day. I hope it becomes a good Children's Day for the children. On that Children's Day, parents need to be in a good mood to give gifts to the children again. (Laughs) Since we must win today for the parents to be in a good mood, we will do our best to have a winning game." He vowed victory with a cheerful joke.

Meanwhile, in response, Hanwha set its starting lineup in the following order: Lee Jin-young (center fielder), Peraza (right fielder), Moon Hyun-bin (left fielder), Kang Baek-ho (designated hitter), Noh Si-hwan (third baseman), Chae Eun-seong (first baseman), Heo In-seo (catcher), Ha Joo-seok (second baseman), and Sim Woo-jun (shortstop). The starting pitcher is left-handed rookie Kang Geon-woo, a graduate of Bukil High School, selected in the second round, 13th overall. Kang Geon-woo recorded 14 hits allowed (1 home run), 6 walks, 6 strikeouts, 5 runs (4 earned runs), and an ERA of 4.50 over 8 innings in five games this season.

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*This content was translated by AI.