Catcher Han Jun-soo hits the field as the No. 2 batter and designated hitter for the first time in 647 days! 'Three-peat' KIA brings out a lineup to take down Lotte's Na Gyun-an [Gwangju on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

KIA Tigers manager Lee Beom-ho (45) brought out a fresh lineup. Catcher Han Jun-soo (27) will bat second as the designated hitter.

KIA announced its starting lineup ahead of its home game against the Lotte Giants at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on the 2nd for the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season.

On this day, KIA arranged its batting order as follows: Park Jae-hyun (left fielder), Han Jun-soo (designated hitter), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Na Sung-beom (right fielder), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Adellin Rodriguez (first baseman), Kim Ho-ryeong (center fielder), Kim Tae-gun (catcher), and Kim Kyu-sung (shortstop). The starting pitcher was James Nail.

Han Jun-soo will bat second for the first time since the August 24, 2024, game against the Changwon NC Dinos. At that time, he also appeared as the designated hitter and went 0-for-3.

The reasons were his recent good batting form and his strong batting average against Lotte's starting pitcher Na Gyun-an. Han Jun-soo has hit .387 (12 hits in 31 at-bats) with five RBIs over his last 10 games, raising his season batting average to .311. He has also performed well against Na Gyun-an, recording two hits in four at-bats with three RBIs, including a double in his career.

Before the game, manager Lee Beom-ho stated, "Jun-soo and Tae-gun have performed best against Na Gyun-an, so we started both of them. Additionally, since Jun-soo is in the best batting condition, we thought the probability of winning would be higher if he gets more at-bats."

This year, KIA has been continuously deliberating over the No. 2 spot. Although they considered various players, including Kim Do-young, who has good batting and speed, and Kim Sun-bin, who excels in contact and bunt execution, they have yet to find a solution.

Manager Lee Beom-ho added, "Everyone has a preferred batting order. We kept putting Sun-bin in the No. 2 spot, but his stamina has been dropping, which concerns us. When his batting was good, he continued without issue, but once his pace slowed, everyone started to feel physically strained to some extent."

The reason for registering infielder Choi Jeong-yong instead of outfielder Han Seung-yeon, who had been removed from the first team the previous day (the 1st), followed the same logic. Manager Lee Beom-ho explained, "Sun-bin and Do-young have been playing continuously, so we are paying attention to that."

He continued, "In terms of pinch-running and defensive replacements, Jeong-yong has a wider range of utility than Seung-yeon, who is occasionally started. Another reason is that we are slightly short on infielders. (Han Seung-yeon's spot) can be covered by Oh Seon-woo, who can play both infield and outfield."

Meanwhile, Lotte arranged its batting order as follows: Hwang Sung-bin (center fielder), Ko Seung-min (second baseman), Victor Reyes (designated hitter), Na Seung-yeop (first baseman), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), Kim Dong-hyun (left fielder), Son Ho-young (third baseman), Jang Du-seong (right fielder), and Son Seong-bin (catcher). The starting pitcher was Na Gyun-an.

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*This content was translated by AI.