Kim Sung-yun excluded from starting lineup → Manager Park Jin-man directly states, "He hit a home run, but he is not yet in his normal rhythm"

*This content was translated by AI.

Samsung Lions outfielder Kim Sung-yun (27) was excluded from the starting lineup despite activating his home run power as a pinch hitter in the previous day's (5th) game. Manager Park Jin-man (50) assessed that the player's batting condition has not yet reached a perfect rhythm.

Manager Park Jin-man of Samsung directly explained the background of Kim Sung-yun's exclusion from the starting lineup at a meeting with reporters ahead of the home game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Daegu Samsung Lions Park for the '2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League' on the 6th.

Kim Sung-yun stepped into the batter's box in the bottom of the 8th inning, replacing Choi Hyung-woo with the score at 9-1 in the previous day's game against Kiwoom, appearing to signal a revival of his batting form, but Manager Park's judgment remained cautious.

Manager Park Jin-man stated, "(Kim) Sung-yun hit a home run yesterday, but I do not think he is yet in his normal rhythm," and added, "Since there are many players in the team currently in good rhythm, we should likely deploy those in the best condition." This is interpreted as a determination to closely monitor the player's cycle in consideration of the long-term race and to field the optimal lineup.

In fact, Kim Sung-yun has recorded a batting average of 0.300 (50 at-bats, 15 hits), 1 home run, and 10 RBIs this season, but his batting average over the last 10 games remains at 0.212 (33 at-bats, 7 hits). Since returning to the first division roster in the game against Jamsil Doosan on April 28, the only game with multiple hits was the April 28 game (4 at-bats, 2 hits).

In fact, on this day, Samsung placed Kim Ji-chan (center fielder) and Gu Ja-wook (left fielder) as table setters and constructed a middle-order lineup consisting of Choi Hyung-woo, Diaz, and Park Seung-kyu. The vacancy left by Kim Sung-yun will be filled by Park Seung-kyu and others who have recently shown good batting form. Compared to the starting lineup on the 5th, the starting catcher changed from Park Se-hyeok to Kim Do-hwan.

Meanwhile, Samsung made changes to its roster for this day. Veteran left-handed pitcher Baek Jeong-hyun was removed from the first division roster due to discomfort in his arm, and right-handed pitcher Yang Chang-seop was called up to fill the vacancy to perform a long relief role.

Regarding shortstop Lee Jae-hyun, who is recovering from an injury, Manager Park Jin-man said, "He is traveling with the first division players and undergoing technical training. After adjusting his game readiness in the Futures League games this weekend, if there are no issues, he should be able to appear in the first division sometime next week," also hinting that the full return of the starting lineup is imminent.

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*This content was translated by AI.