"Song Chan-ui has grown significantly," Yeom Kyung-yeop gives special praise, making it possible to exclude the.300 hitter from the starting lineup [Jamsil on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

LG Twins manager Yeom Kyung-yeop (58) did not hold back his praise for the growth of promising power hitter Song Chan-ui (27), who is finally beginning to shine.

On the 12th, LG announced its starting lineup for the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season home game against Lotte Giants at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

On this day, LG set its lineup as Hong Chang-ki (right fielder), Park Hae-min (center fielder), Austin Dean (first baseman), Moon Bo-kyung (designated hitter), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Song Chan-ui (left fielder), Park Dong-won (catcher), Koo Bon-hyuk (third baseman), and Shin Min-jae (second baseman). The starting pitcher is Anders Tolhurst.

After a 15-1 decisive victory over SSG Landers the previous day (11th), LG aims for a four-game winning streak. Lotte killer Tolhurst takes the mound. This season, Tolhurst has led LG's pitching staff with 7 wins and 3 losses in 12 regular-season games, an ERA of 3.36, 64⅓ innings pitched, 18 walks, 56 strikeouts, and a batting average against of 0.227.

In particular, he has shown strong performance against Lotte, posting an ERA of 0.73 in two games since joining last year. He also secured a victory on May 26 this year, pitching 6⅓ innings and allowing only one run.

Moon Bo-kyung, who recently returned from an ankle injury and was selected for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games representative team, will serve as the designated hitter on this day. LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop explained before the game, "(Moon) Bo-kyung is likely to start playing third base defense from tomorrow (13th). We thought it was better for him to adapt rather than go straight into the starting lineup, even though he played briefly yesterday."

Moon Sung-ju (29), who returned from injury alongside Moon Bo-kyung but has struggled recently with a.250 batting average (7 hits in 28 at-bats) over the last 10 games, was left out of the lineup. The margin that allowed the exclusion of a.300 hitter was rooted in the growth of promising player Song Chan-ui.

Song Chan-ui is hitting with great power, recording four doubles in a single game the previous day, and maintaining a.467 batting average (14 hits in 30 at-bats) over the last 10 games. His regular-season stats are also strong:.295 batting average (36 hits in 122 at-bats), 6 home runs, 26 RBIs, 28 runs scored, a.407 on-base percentage, a.541 slugging percentage, and an OPS of 0.948 in 42 games.

Manager Yeom said, "(Song) Chan-ui has grown a lot this season and is on a good path so far. The most important point is that he has not changed his form over the past two years but has filled in what needed to be filled within his own structure. Previously, Chan-ui's weakness was that his upper and lower body rotated together, leaving no space on the inside. However, by utilizing his lower body more and creating space on the inside, he is now hitting home runs without fouling."

He continued, "Through practice with the hitting coach, his hitting point has moved slightly forward, about one or two pitches ahead of before, which has also increased his power. Since he himself feels this improvement, I think he will take another step up if he plays with confidence. If Chan-ui continues to grow like this, he will be a much greater help to our team not just now but also in the second half. If (Moon) Sung-ju is not performing well like now, we can bench him to rest, and the same applies to Chang-ki. This is why having a backup who can start is extremely important."

Last year, LG was able to minimize the gap caused by Hong Chang-ki's injury and Oh Ji-hwan's slump thanks to the growth of backup player Koo Bon-hyuk. Despite having no fixed position, he played and batted as much as a starter, earning the title of a backup player who performs like a starter. This year, Song Chan-ui is performing in a way that matches that standard.

Manager Yeom emphasized, "Having a backup who can start and contribute to the team is beneficial for preventing injuries among starters and allows them to rest when needed. By giving them opportunities over the past two years, we have gradually built depth and made the team stronger."

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*This content was translated by AI.