Hanwha Makes a Surprise Move! 'Recently 10 Games, Batting Average of.400' Who Almost Had a Cycle Hit → Leadoff Position Advancement 'Kim Kyung-moon Praises ' [Jamsil On-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

Hanwha Eagles made a surprise move by placing 'acting captain' Kim Tae-yeon at the leadoff spot against the Doosan Bears.

Hanwha will play an away game against Doosan at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium at 5 p.m. on the 3rd as part of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season.

Hanwha mounted a fierce comeback in the 9th inning the previous day (2nd), but ultimately failed to turn the game around, losing 3-5. With today's victory, they aim to mount a counterattack.

Hanwha sits in 5th place in the league with 27 wins and 26 losses. Meanwhile, 6th-place Doosan has 26 wins, 1 draw, and 28 losses. The gap between the two teams is 1.5 games.

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

Kim Tae-yeon's placement at the leadoff spot stands out. On the 28th of last month against the Changwon NC Dinos, Kim hit three home runs, falling just one double short of a cycle hit.

Kim has appeared in 45 games this season, posting a batting average of.330 (115 at-bats, 38 hits), 3 home runs, 14 RBIs, 20 runs scored, 14 walks, 21 strikeouts, an on-base percentage of.405, a slugging percentage of.487, an OPS (on-base + slugging) of.892, and a batting average with runners in scoring position of.273. Notably, his batting average over the last 10 games has reached.417.

Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon praised Kim, saying, "Won-seok has performed exceptionally well so far, so we decided to give him a chance. As a former third baseman, he has solid defensive skills and surprisingly good base-running ability. He can also play outfield and is a player with great potential."

The manager continued, "He hasn't yet established a fixed position, so when Chae Eun-seong was injured, he played first base and has been recording these stats. Previously, when he played outfield, he hit over 60 RBIs and more than 10 home runs. He has that kind of talent. I'm not sure how he'll perform at the leadoff spot today, but we're considering using him there for the time being."

Meanwhile, Hanwha's starting pitcher Wang Yencheng has appeared in 11 games this season, recording 5 wins, 2 losses, and an ERA of 3.24. Over 58⅓ innings, he allowed 58 hits (4 home runs), issued 24 walks, recorded 50 strikeouts, and gave up 29 runs (21 earned). His WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) stands at 1.41, and his batting average against is.259. He has achieved four quality starts (six innings or more with three or fewer earned runs). Against Doosan, in two games this year, he went 2-0 with an ERA of 1.35, allowing 10 hits, issuing 3 walks, striking out 10 batters, and giving up 5 runs (2 earned) over 13⅓ innings.

On the other hand, Doosan set its starting lineup against Hanwha as follows: Park Chan-ho (shortstop), Son Ah-seop (left fielder), Park Ji-hoon (first baseman), Cameron (right fielder), Ahn Jae-seok (third baseman), Yang Eui-ji (designated hitter), Kang Seung-ho (second baseman), Yoon Jun-ho (catcher), and Jo Su-hyeong (center fielder). The starting pitcher is Park Shin-ji.

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*This content was translated by AI.