KIA's Kim Seon-bin replaced for disciplinary reasons? Manager Lee Beom-ho: "He is the symbol of the team, so I had to judge more coldly... Yesterday was a deeply disappointing game" — [Busan]

*This content was translated by AI.

KIA Tigers manager Lee Beom-ho openly expressed his regret while reflecting on the previous day's game (the 7th).

KIA will face the Lotte Giants in an away regular-season match of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium at 6:30 p.m. on the 8th.

After losing to Lotte 2-10 the previous day, KIA enters its final two games of the first half with only one win to its name.

Ahead of today's game, Manager Lee told reporters regarding Kim Seon-bin's early substitution: "When a game like yesterday happens, I wanted everyone to focus. I wanted to convey that focusing and giving your best effort in any situation is the most important thing."

He continued, "(Kim) Seon-bin is the symbol of our team, so I felt it necessary to make a more cold-blooded judgment in this regard. The same will apply going forward. Whether you say there are many games left or few, both perspectives are possible. We've already passed the halfway point, and we shouldn't see games like that again."

In the previous game, KIA took an early lead with a run in the top of the first inning, going up 1-0. However, starting pitcher Kim Tae-hyung faltered in the bottom of the first. After allowing a double to right-center field by leadoff hitter Hwang Sung-bin, he permitted Hwang's advance on Go Seung-min's sacrifice bunt toward third base. The batter was out. Then, Reyes hit a two-run double down the left-center gap, making it 1-0.

Han Dong-hee followed with a walk. Park Chan-hong struck out. Then Jeon Min-jae drove a deep infield single toward third base, creating a bases-loaded opportunity with two outs. The next batter was Han Tae-yang. With a 0-2 count, he attacked the third pitch. The ball rolled toward the second baseman. At that moment, Kim Seon-bin's throw to first base was slightly late. After fielding the ball and throwing it toward first, the initial call was out.

Just as KIA infielders thought the inning had ended and were heading back to the dugout, Lotte requested a video review. The replay showed Han Tae-yang's foot touching the base first, overturning the call. With Reyes' run from third base now counted, Jang Du-seong stepped up to bat next and hit a two-run double down the middle, flipping the score to 3-1 in Lotte's favor.

Kim Seon-bin immediately took his turn at bat in the top of the second inning with no outs and a runner on first. The first pitch was a ball. On the second pitch, he targeted an outside cutter from Lotte starter Rodriguez but hit into a fielder's choice to the pitcher, ending his at-bat. In the bottom of the second, Lotte came to bat. KIA made a defensive adjustment: instead of keeping Kim Seon-bin at second base, they placed Kim Gyu-seong there. Jeong Hyeon-chang was brought in to replace him at shortstop. There was no injury or physical issue with Kim Seon-bin; the move was interpreted as a disciplinary substitution.

Manager Lee stated, "I wasn't satisfied with yesterday's game. We're trying to finish the first half well, but perhaps that added pressure on the players. Yesterday was simply too disappointing. Before that, we had enough opportunities to end the inning cleanly, but we failed to do so. If we had been more focused, we could have easily avoided trouble — that's what I regretted."

Meanwhile, KIA set its starting lineup for today as follows: Park Jae-hyun (left field), Kim Ho-ryeong (center field), Kim Do-young (third base), Na Sung-beom (right field), Castro (first base), Han Jun-su (designated hitter), Kim Seon-bin (second base), Ju Hyo-sang (catcher), and Kim Gyu-seong (shortstop). Starting pitcher was James Neill. Additionally, Lee Tae-yang was added to the first-team roster while Kim Tae-hyung was removed.

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*This content was translated by AI.