Lotte's Hwang Seong-bin excluded from starting LINE-up, why?... Yoon Dong-hee also unable to appear as a pinch hitter [Jamsil Field]

*This content was translated by AI.

Key batters for Lotte Giants were excluded from the starting LINE-up.

Lotte will face the Doosan Bears in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season away game at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium at 2 p.m. on the 17th.

Lotte secured a thrilling one-run victory with a 6-5 score on the 15th. However, in the previous day's (16th) game, they narrowly lost 9-10 after a grueling 11-inning battle. Today, the protagonist of the winning series will be decided.

For today's game, Lotte set the starting batting order as follows: Jang Du-seong (center fielder), Go Seung-min (second baseman), Reyes (designated hitter), Na Seung-yeop (first baseman), Han Dong-hee (third baseman), Yu Gangnam (catcher), Jeon Jun-woo (left fielder), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), and Son Ho-young (right fielder). The starting pitcher is Alvin Rodriguez.

It is notable that Hwang Seong-bin is missing from the leadoff spot. Hwang has appeared in 24 games this season, recording a batting average of 0.304 (79 at-bats, 24 hits), 3 RBIs, 13 runs scored, 9 stolen bases (1 failed), 4 walks, 15 strikeouts, a slugging percentage of 0.367, an on-base percentage of 0.337, an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.704, a batting average with runners in scoring position of 0.308, and a pinch-hitting batting average of 0.500.

In particular, his hitting form has been excellent recently. After recording a multi-hit game against the NC Dinos on the 13th, he hit a single in the NC game on the 14th. He then succeeded in multi-hit games on consecutive days against Doosan on the 15th and 16th.

Despite this, Hwang Seong-bin was excluded from the starting lineup. There was a reason. A Lotte official stated, "He suffered a bruise on the left thumb from a hit ball during yesterday's game," and added, "It is difficult to hit normally, so he will be prepared as a pinch runner and defensive replacement for today's game."

Additionally, Yoon Dong-hee is scheduled to be excluded from the 1st division LINE-up on the 18th. Recently, he suffered an unfortunate injury while showering. A Lotte official explained Yoon Dong-hee's exact injury status the previous day, stating, "He fell while showering and sustained a simple bruise on the upper right hip." Manager Kim Tae-hyung said before the 17th game, "It will be difficult for him to appear as a pinch hitter today. The injury seems like it will last a while. Depending on the situation, he may be excluded from the roster." He also remarked, "He cannot even move his body properly, so we cannot just wait."

Meanwhile, Lotte will have Rodriguez start today. Rodriguez has started 8 games this season, recording 3 wins, 2 losses, and an ERA of 5.11. Over a total of 44 innings, he has allowed 45 hits (7 home runs), issued 22 walks, recorded 44 strikeouts, and allowed 25 runs (25 earned runs), with an innings per base on average (WHIP) of 1.52 and a batting average against of 0.263. Against Doosan, he appeared in one game on the 23rd of last month, pitching 6 innings, allowing 6 hits (1 home run), issuing 1 walk, striking out 8 batters, and allowing 1 run (1 earned run), earning the win.

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*This content was translated by AI.