'Oh no' Kim Do-young again, defense is not working... Why? '3G' consecutive DH starts, manager says "Leg is slightly..." KIA proceeds cautiously without overexertion [Gwangju on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

KIA Tigers announced the starting lineup for the first game of the weekend three-game series against Doosan Bears. Kim Do-young will start again as designated hitter, and the manager, taking a cautious approach of testing even a solid bridge before crossing, decided to avoid overexertion as much as possible.

KIA will face Doosan at 6:30 p.m. on the 12th at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field for a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season home game.

KIA returned to Gwangju after losing 1-4 to Daejeon Hanwha Eagles the previous day (11th), finishing the weekend three-game series with one win and two losses.

With a two-game losing streak, KIA sits fifth in the league with 33 wins, one tie, and 29 losses. The gap with fourth-place Hanwha is '0'. Meanwhile, the gap with sixth-place Doosan is 1.5 games, meaning the standings could shift depending on the outcome of this series.

For today's game, KIA set the starting lineup as follows: Park Jae-hyun (left fielder), Han Jun-soo (catcher), Kim Do-young (designated hitter), Na Sung-beom (right fielder), Aderlin (first baseman), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Byun Woo-hyeok (third baseman), Kim Kyu-sung (shortstop), and Kim Ho-ryeong (center fielder). Starting pitcher is Yang Hyeon-jong.

Notably, Kim Do-young is starting as designated hitter for three consecutive games. In his place, Byun Woo-hyeok has been holding down the hot corner well.

Before the game, KIA manager Lee Beom-ho commented on Kim Do-young: "He has some issues with his movement; his leg is slightly bothering him. So we are considering starting him as designated hitter just in case. It is not a serious injury. (Continuing to start as DH) probably won't last long. Still, I think we need to check through this week. The training staff also says it's not a major issue. However, just in case, to avoid overexertion, I think we should proceed with some adjustments."

KIA starting pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong has appeared in 11 games this season, recording 3 wins, 4 losses, and an ERA of 4.39. Over a total of 53⅓ innings, he has allowed 52 hits (9 home runs), issued 25 walks, recorded 38 strikeouts, and given up 30 runs (26 earned). His WHIP is 1.44, and his batting average against is 0.250. He has achieved one quality start (six innings with three or fewer earned runs). Against Doosan this year, in two games, he recorded 1 win, 1 loss, an ERA of 5.59, over 9⅔ innings, allowing 11 hits (3 home runs), issuing 3 walks, recording 7 strikeouts, and giving up 6 runs (6 earned).

Meanwhile, on this day, KIA terminated the contract with Aderlin, the foreign replacement player signed due to injury. KIA stated, "We are ending the six-week contract with replacement foreign player Aderlin Rodriguez. We attempted to extend the contract with Aderlin, which expires today (12th), but decided not to extend due to personal reasons of the player," explaining the background of the failed re-signing. Nevertheless, Aderlin is scheduled to start today as the fifth hitter and first baseman, aiming to finish on a high note.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.