"What if both Song Chan-ui and Lee Jae-won are doing well? I'm so grateful." Yeom Kyung-yeop, burdened with many concerns, smiled broadly [Daejeon on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

With Moon Bo-kyung (26) departing, the LG Twins' No. 4 hitter spot has changed hands once again. This time, it is foreign hitter Austin Dean.

On the 8th, LG officially announced the starting lineup for the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season away game against Hanwha Eagles at Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park.

On this day, LG arranged its lineup as follows: Hong Chang-ki (right fielder), Shin Min-jae (second baseman), Cheon Seong-ho (first baseman), Austin Dean (designated hitter), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Koo Bon-hyuk (third baseman), Park Hae-min (center fielder), Lee Jae-won (left fielder), and Lee Ju-heon (catcher). The starting pitcher is Song Seung-gi.

In response, Hanwha set its lineup as: Lee Jin-young (center fielder), Yonatan Peraza (right fielder), Moon Hyun-bin (left fielder), Kang Baek-ho (designated hitter), Noh Si-hwan (third baseman), Kim Tae-yeon (first baseman), Heo In-seo (catcher), Lee Do-yoon (second baseman), and Sim Woo-jun (shortstop). The starting pitcher is Park Jun-young.

After Moon Bo-kyung's departure, the LG No. 4 hitter spot welcomed a new protagonist. Currently, Austin is the player with the best batting form on the LG team. In 33 games, he has a.365 batting average (137 at-bats, 50 hits), 8 home runs, 29 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 1.074, competing for the batting title.

LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said, "We've been worried every day since the No. 4 spot opened up. (The gap caused by Moon Bo-kyung's injury) has lasted a month, and it seems everyone feels burdened when batting fourth. Still, we have to try various combinations and see what works." He added, "Austin should actually be batting third, but we tried putting him fourth this time."

Oh Ji-hwan, who showed a disappointing performance batting fourth the previous day (7th), was moved down one spot to fifth. This year, Oh Ji-hwan has a.236 batting average (89 at-bats, 21 hits), 1 home run, 16 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.635 over 30 games, which is not impressive, but the manager's trust in him remains unchanged. Manager Yeom explained, "(Oh) Ji-hwan isn't getting hits right now, but his timing is fine. The quality of his contact and other aspects are not bad."

Fortunately, the conditions of LG's promising right-handed power hitters, Song Chan-ui and Lee Jae-won, are not poor. Both players have recently been activating their home run power, becoming a ray of hope for the lower part of the lineup.

Manager Yeom stated firmly, "Some people ask, 'What if both (Song) Chan-ui and (Lee) Jae-won are doing well? Who do you start?' The problem isn't that they're not good; it's truly a grateful situation." He continued, "If those players are doing well, we can manage the stamina of the regular starters and even pull them out based on data. If they're performing well, there's absolutely no cause for concern."

Song Chan-ui received an OK sign despite his aggressive swings. Currently, in 16 games, he has a.340 batting average (47 at-bats, 16 hits), 5 home runs, 12 RBIs, an on-base percentage of 0.466, a slugging percentage of 0.723, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 1.189. While some express concern due to his 5 walks and 13 strikeouts, the manager hopes the young players will leverage their strengths.

Manager Yeom pointed out the mental aspect, saying, "(Song) Chan-ui has accumulated experience, so his swing mechanics are ready when he steps into the batter's box. However, he still strikes out excessively in crucial situations."

He further explained, "He needs to make contact. He thinks he shouldn't strike out, but that mindset disrupts his balance. When there are no runners on base, he should attack only the pitches he's targeting, but in crucial situations, he starts spinning the windmill from the first pitch."

He added, "But that is how experience is gained. Not long ago, I asked him (during the May 6 Jamsil Doosan game) why he was swinging aggressively in crucial situations. I told him to hit exactly as he would with no runners on base. I told him not to imagine the situation but to act the same. Such experience is priceless." He encouraged the player to keep pushing forward and learning from these experiences.

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*This content was translated by AI.