KIA makes a bold move! Hanwha's ace faces an unexpected lineup — why? The term "Hampyeong Tigers" directly from the manager's mouth [Daejeon Field]

*This content was translated by AI.

KIA Tigers aim for their fourth consecutive win. They have revealed an unusually bold starting lineup for the Hanwha Eagles game.

KIA will face Hanwha at Daejeon Hanwha Life Park on the 19th at 7 p.m. in a regular-season away game of the '2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League'.

The day before (the 18th), KIA secured a narrow 4-3 victory over Hanwha at the same venue. With this win, KIA extended their winning streak to three games, improving their record to 57 wins, 48 losses, and 2 draws. KIA remains in sole fourth place in the league standings.

Now, they are set to push for a fourth consecutive victory.

KIA has arranged its starting batting order as follows: Park Jae-hyun (right fielder), Park Jung-woo (center fielder), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Castro (first baseman), Na Sung-beom (designated hitter), Oh Sun-woo (left fielder), Lee Ho-yeon (second baseman), Kim Tae-gun (catcher), and Jeong Hyeon-chang (shortstop). The starting pitcher is Shirakawa.

Compared to the previous day, the lineup has changed significantly. First, Kim Ho-ryeong was removed from center field, and Park Jung-woo took over as both center fielder and the second batter.

However, the clean-up trio of Kim Do-young-Castro-Na Sung-beom remains unchanged.

Oh Sun-woo moved to left field, while Park Jae-hyun replaced him in right field. The starting shortstop also changed from Ha Ju-seok the previous day to Jeong Hyeon-chang today. Additionally, Lee Ho-yeon started at second base instead of Yoon Do-hyun who played there yesterday.

Before today's game, KIA manager Lee Beom-ho said, "Some players have been feeling unwell, so we've rested them one by one, and quite a few are out."

He continued, "(Kim) Ho-ryeong is in slightly poor condition. Also, it seems he has weaknesses against the pitches thrown by White (Hanwha's starter), so we had been considering resting him at least once before this game."

The manager further added, "As for (Ha) Ju-seok and (Kim) Sun-bin, they are unlikely to start today. However, they could be used as pinch hitters in the later innings. Since Jeong Hyeon-chang is currently the only available shortstop, if Ju-seok is to play, we're considering having him enter around the seventh or eighth inning. Today, just like last season, it seems we'll have to play with the 'Hampyeong Tigers' lineup."

Meanwhile, Hanwha, facing KIA, set its starting lineup as follows: Choi In-ho (center fielder), Peraza (right fielder), Moon Hyun-bin (left fielder), Kang Baek-ho (designated hitter), Noh Si-hwan (third baseman), Chae Eun-seong (first baseman), Heo In-seo (catcher), Lee Do-yoon (second baseman), and Sim Woo-jun (shortstop). The starting pitcher is Owen White.

White has appeared in 16 games this season, recording a 6-7 record with an ERA of 3.15. Over 91⅓ innings, he allowed 92 hits (including 5 home runs), issued 19 walks, recorded 66 strikeouts, and gave up 35 runs (32 earned). His WHIP stands at 1.22, and his batting average against is 0.259. He has achieved a quality start (six innings or more with three or fewer earned runs) eight times this season.

Notably, against KIA this season, White went 2-0 in two games with an ERA of 1.29. Over 14 innings, he allowed 10 hits (including 2 home runs), issued 2 walks, recorded 10 strikeouts, and gave up only 2 runs (both earned).

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*This content was translated by AI.