Ouch! Hit by a fastball on the back of the hand, substitution OUT → Hospital checkup results bring great relief; LG's top hitter, manager says "I thought there was more than a 60% chance of a fracture..." [Jamsil On-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

It was a great relief. Moon Jung-bin (23) of the LG Twins, who had been struck directly on the back of his hand by an opposing pitcher's fastball the previous day (the 29th), avoided serious injury.

LG will face Kiwoom Heroes in a regular-season home game at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the afternoon of the 30th at 6:30 p.m.

On this day, LG set its starting lineup with Hong Chang-gi (designated hitter), Park Hae-min (center fielder), Austin (first baseman), Song Chan-ui (right fielder), Moon Sung-ju (left fielder), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Moon Bo-kyung (third baseman), Park Dong-won (catcher), and Gu Bon-hyeok (second baseman). The starting pitcher was Im Chan-gyu.

It is notable that Moon Jung-bin was excluded from the starting lineup. Moon had started as the fourth hitter and designated hitter in the previous day's Jamsil game against Kiwoom but could not finish the game.

It was due to a pitch that hit him directly. At that time, with LG trailing by two runs in the top of the sixth inning, they faced a situation with one out and runners on first and second in the bottom of the sixth. Moon Jung-bin was struck directly on the back of his hand by Kiwoom relief pitcher Kim Sun-gi's 143 km/h fastball and collapsed to the ground, crying out in pain. LG trainers immediately came out to check his condition.

Fortunately, Moon got up on his own and headed toward the dugout. He could no longer continue playing. He was replaced by pinch runner Choi Won-young, ending his participation in that day's game. At the time, an LG team official stated, "Moon Jung-bin is scheduled for a hospital checkup due to a bruise on the back of his left hand."

And the next day, on the 30th, the results of the detailed hospital examination came out: a diagnosis of simple contusion.

An LG official explained ahead of the game on the 30th, "We conducted an X-ray examination yesterday as a first step, but found no abnormalities." He added, "Today's detailed CT scan confirmed a simple contusion on the back of his left hand with no additional issues."

The manager also showed relief upon hearing Moon Jung-bin's examination results. Manager Yeom said in an interview with reporters ahead of today's game, "They say there is no problem with the bone. For now, he should rest for about a day, but we will monitor the situation."

Manager Yeom added, "It was not a good area; I thought there was more than a 60% chance that his bone had cracked or even broken. But fortunately, it hit the very end of the hand. The bone must be strong," letting out a sigh of relief.

Although Manager Yeom stated he would give Moon as much rest as possible, if a critical situation arises later in the game, he may appear as a pinch hitter. The manager said, "He says it's fine to come in as a pinch hitter. If an important situation comes up, we will consider whether to send him in based on his condition."

Moon Jung-bin has played 44 games this season with a batting average of .331 (39 hits in 118 at-bats), 10 home runs, 33 RBIs, 18 runs scored, 9 doubles, 2 triples, 16 walks, 35 strikeouts, a slugging percentage of .695, an on-base percentage of .416, an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.111, a batting average with runners in scoring position of .297, and a pinch-hitting average of .000. He is leading the league in OPS for July.

Meanwhile, facing LG today, Kiwoom set its starting lineup with Seo Geon-chang (second baseman), Choi Jae-hyun (left fielder), Davison (designated hitter), Ahn Chi-hong (first baseman), Park Chan-hyuk (right fielder), Kim Keon-hee (catcher), Im Byung-wook (center fielder), Kwon Hyuk-bin (shortstop), and Yeo Dong-wook (third baseman). Kiwoom's starting pitcher was An Woo-jin.

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*This content was translated by AI.