'Na Seung-yeop at first base, Park Chan-hyung at third base' — Is the shaky infield defense acceptable... The manager still has faith in them. "(Na) Seung-yeop must step up" [Jamsil on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

Lotte Giants manager Kim Tae-hyung (59) has not yet given up on using first baseman Na Seung-yeop (24).

Manager Kim Tae-hyung announced the starting lineup ahead of Lotte's away game against Doosan Bears in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season, scheduled for Tuesday at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

Lotte set its batting order as follows: Hwang Sung-bin (center fielder), Go Seung-min (second baseman), Victor Reyes (left fielder), Han Dong-hee (designated hitter), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), Na Seung-yeop (first baseman), Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Park Chan-hyung (third baseman), and Son Seong-bin (catcher). The starting pitcher is Na Gyun-an.

Doosan countered with the following lineup: Kim Min-seok (left fielder), Jung Soobin (center fielder), Park Jun-soon (second baseman), Yang Ui-ji (designated hitter), Ahn Jae-seok (third baseman), Park Chan-ho (shortstop), Ryu Seung-min (right fielder), Yoon Jun-ho (catcher), and Kang Seung-ho (first baseman). The starting pitcher is Kwak Bin.

Na Seung-yeop committed a major error in last month's game against the Busan LG Twins, which led his team to defeat. In the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and runners on first and third bases while Lotte held a 5-2 lead, he successfully fielded a ground ball hit by Moon Bo-kyung but delivered a disastrous throw to first base. Despite the short distance, the overthrown toss sailed well above the head of Hyun Do-hoon, who was covering the bag. The mistake triggered a series of runs. Following that, Cheon Seong-ho hit an RBI single to tie the game, and Austin hit a bases-loaded home run in the eighth inning, resulting in Lotte's 7-8 comeback loss.

This marks Na's first start at first base since then, while Park Chan-hyung took over as the starting third baseman. Park has only 196⅓ innings of experience playing third base in the first division. Although corner infield defense remains somewhat shaky, the manager expressed confidence in his players. Before the game, Kim Tae-hyung joked, "Just like in the LG game, I hope these efforts to keep pushing until the end will continue for our players. I expect everyone to perform well overall. For now, sending Na Seung-yeop to first base should be seen as a final ultimatum."

He continued, "(Na) Seung-yeop must take responsibility at first base. He says he's struggling psychologically right now, but he needs to overcome it. He is a professional athlete; what else can he do? No one can comfort him into success — he has to make it happen himself."

Na Seung-yeop's rebound could also spark Lotte's second-half comeback. After facing numerous setbacks since the start of this season, Lotte has seen its core players return and its starting rotation stabilize, leading to a recent surge with seven wins and three losses in their last 10 games.

Manager Kim Tae-hyung cautioned against premature optimism: "Other teams aren't playing around either. There's no team we can easily count on to pull away right now. Looking at the lineup when momentum is high, there isn't a single opponent we should underestimate." At the same time, he added, "We must do our best right now. Our performance will improve compared to the early part of the season. Things are gradually getting better, so we need to keep pushing until the end."

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*This content was translated by AI.