KIA Tigers go all out to secure Korean Series spot: "Hwang Dong-ha on standby from the first inning" [Busan]

*This content was translated by AI.

The KIA Tigers will launch a full-scale effort in their final first-half game, with Hwang Dong-ha placed on standby starting from the first inning.

KIA is set to face the Lotte Giants at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium at 6:30 p.m. on the 9th for an away regular-season match of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League.

KIA has currently lost four consecutive games. They dropped both of two out of three matches against Lotte earlier this week. Most painfully, their starting pitchers collapsed early, leading to defeats of 2-10 and 3-11. They were unable to even bring in their reliable relief pitchers before falling on their knees. With the gap to fifth-place Doosan Bears now narrowed to just 1.5 games, a win is essential to more solidly secure fourth place in the second half.

For today's game, KIA set its starting lineup as follows: Kim Ho-ryeong (center fielder), Park Jae-hyun (left fielder), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Na Sung-beom (right fielder), Castro (designated hitter), Han Jun-soo (catcher), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Byun Woo-hyeok (first baseman), and Park Min (shortstop). The starting pitcher is Yang Hyeon-jong. This season, Yang has appeared in 15 games with a record of 5 wins and 5 losses and an ERA of 4.05. Against Lotte this season, he pitched one game, recording 1 win with no losses, an ERA of 1.80 (5 innings, 4 hits allowed, 1 home run allowed, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, 3 runs allowed, 1 earned run).

Before the game, KIA manager Lee Beom-ho stated, "I had already discussed this with the pitching coach, and Hwang Dong-ha will be on standby from the first inning. We also plan to have the bullpen ready from the very start. I told Yang Hyeon-jong to throw his best from the first inning as well. If the score gap opens up early, it could become difficult to catch up, so we decided to prepare accordingly."

He continued, "We don't know how the game will unfold in the early innings, but neither Yang nor Hwang has just come off rest with their velocity suddenly skyrocketing. We believe it might be better to have a pitcher who can throw more varied pitches. On the other side (Lotte), many young players are lined up. They may find it harder to hit breaking balls than fastballs. If Yang can hold them to 1 or 2 runs over five innings, we could have a chance. If the momentum starts slipping, we'll make changes then."

Regarding the change in the leadoff spot, he added, "We rotate batters depending on the opposing pitcher's type. Kim Ho-ryeong doesn't appear to be in poor condition, and neither does Park Jae-hyun. So I thought it would be best for these two to bat first and second. Also, since Byun Woo-hyeok hit well yesterday, we aim to make the most statistically sound choice based on data and probability. The key is how long the starting pitcher can hold out."

Meanwhile, Lotte set its starting lineup as follows: Hwang Seong-bin (center fielder), Go Seung-min (first baseman), Reyes (left fielder), Han Dong-hee (designated hitter), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), Han Tae-yang (second baseman), Son Ho-young (right fielder), Kim Se-min (third baseman), and Son Seong-bin (catcher). The starting pitcher is Kim Jin-wook.

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*This content was translated by AI.