'Today is DH Kim Do-young,' Manager Lee Beom-ho: "Forced him to rest"... Byun Woo-hyeok batting 8th at 3B, Yoon Do-hyun batting 7th at 1B 'KIA lineup change' [Gwangju on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

"We are forcing him to rest."

Kim Do-young (23, KIA Tigers) has been removed from defense. Although Kim Do-young has shown strong will to play in the field, Manager Lee Beom-ho (45) made the decision that he needed rest.

Kim Do-young is scheduled to start as the designated hitter batting third in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League home game against Hanwha Eagles at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on the 23rd.

Kim Do-young, who has played the most innings among the team's infielders with 672⅔, has often expressed his desire to play in the field. Manager Lee wants to give him a rest occasionally for physical management, but whenever he asks Kim Do-young, the answer is always "I'm fine."

However, today was a day for rest. KIA set its lineup as follows: Kim Ho-ryeong (center fielder), Herald Castro (left fielder), Kim Do-young (designated hitter), Na Sung-beom (right fielder), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Han Jun-su (catcher), Yoon Do-hyun (first baseman), Byun Woo-hyeok (third baseman), and Kim Kyu-sung (shortstop).

Manager Lee said, "Do-young has been playing defense almost continuously since before the All-Star break, with only one or two exceptions, so we moved him to designated hitter. We are forcing him to rest. He says he's fine, but he looks tired and his batting rhythm seems to have dipped slightly, so I thought this was the best timing to give him a rest."

Instead, Byun Woo-hyeok (26) will take over at third base. Manager Lee explained the background of the lineup change: "Wang Yencheng shows differences against left-handed and right-handed batters, and it looks difficult for him to hit switch hitters on the left side. Since we were planning to move Do-young to designated hitter, we decided to put Woo-hyeok at third base because we thought a right-handed batter would have an advantage. The schedule will be tight starting next week, and today is the best timing since almost all pitchers are right-handed except for Wang Yencheng, who is left-handed. So I gave Do-young one day of rest from defense."

Yoon Do-hyun, who started as a designated hitter yesterday after being called up and recorded a multi-hit game including a home run, moved from the 9th spot to the 7th spot and shifted from second base to first base. Manager Lee said, "It's hard to judge based on just one day of performance, but he showed determination. When he struck out in his first at-bat, I thought it was the same as before, but from his second at-bat onward, it looked good that he was trying to follow the ball no matter what. He is a type of batter who hits well when the ball comes in rather than when it moves away from him, so he should be useful against left-handed pitchers or pitchers who throw well inside. Kim Sun-bin is in good condition, and Park Sang-jun is weak against left-handed pitchers, so we used them. I hope there will be many situations where they can play at second base or first base. They need to prove their abilities. Their defense was also fine. Having many options is best, so I hope they perform well today as they did yesterday."

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*This content was translated by AI.