'Struck by a 146km/h fastball': NC's Lee Woo-seong avoids worst-case scenario; injury is to the ulna, not the wrist... Shin Young-woo transforms into reliable reliever [Incheon]

*This content was translated by AI.

With the position players already exhausted, Lee Woo-seong (32, NC Dinos) was also hit by a 146km/h fastball. Fortunately, the injury did not affect his wrist, and the plan is to monitor his condition closely.

Ahead of their visit game against the SSG Landers at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 25th, NC Dinos removed outfielders Park Si-won and Ko Jun-hwi from the first-division roster and called up another outfielder, Han Seok-hyun, and Oh Jang-han.

Head coach Lee Ho-jun met with reporters before the game and explained, "The outfielders — (Kwon) Hee-dong, (Park) Geon-woo, and (Lee) Woo-sung — have all been running too much lately. We shifted a player who was expected to contribute defensively from the backup side to offense, and we replaced Ko Jun-hwi, who was expected to contribute offensively, because he is a rookie whose stamina can deplete quickly and whose confidence seems to have dropped significantly."

NC set its starting lineup for the day as follows: Kim Ju-won (shortstop), Kwon Hee-dong (left fielder), Park Min-woo (second baseman), Blaine Crim (designated hitter), Park Geon-woo (right fielder), Kim Hwi-jip (third baseman), Kim Hyung-jun (catcher), Han Jae-hwan (first baseman), and Cheon Jae-hwan (center fielder). The starting pitcher was Natsuki Toda.

Lee Woo-seong was not included in the starting lineup. This season, Lee has played in 85 games with a batting average of .328 (101 hits in 308 at-bats), six home runs, 40 RBIs, and 34 runs scored. His on-base percentage is .370, slugging percentage is .438, and OPS (on-base plus slugging) is .808, marking a career-high season.

However, during the top of the ninth inning in yesterday's game against SSG, a 146km/h fastball thrown by Jeon Young-jun headed toward his body, and he was unable to avoid it. The ball struck his left wrist, and Lee Woo-seong reported severe pain.

Fortunately, the worst-case scenario was avoided. An NC official stated, "Lee Woo-seong was hit on the ulna, not his left wrist. He will not be immediately removed from the roster but will remain with the first-division team for a few days while his condition is monitored."

Another change occurred in the bullpen. Shin Young-woo, who joined NC as the fourth pick in the first round of the 2023 Rookie Draft, has taken on the role of a reliable reliever.

Shin made his first appearance of July yesterday. With his team trailing 2-5 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Shin entered and retired Park Sung-han with three pitches for a strikeout. He then quickly retired Bly Madris, who has been leading the recent SSG lineup, by inducing a fly ball to the first baseman on just three pitches, and sent power hitter Kim Jae-hwan out on a fly ball to center field in only two pitches. With six of his eight pitches being strikes, it was an impressive performance that showed clear potential.

Coach Lee explained, "We intended to use him today but pulled him after one inning. He has always been used for long outings of two or three innings when he enters the game, but due to recent injuries among our winning relievers, someone needed to step into that role, and we thought of Young-woo. We brought him up because we were curious about how he would feel pitching just one inning, and after finishing with only eight pitches, we plan to use him again today if a hold situation arises."

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*This content was translated by AI.