Hanwha makes a bold move! Even Peraza is benched with '5 major lineup changes'; Kim Tae-yeon to bat leadoff against KIA... Kim Kyung-moon: "There are players who have worked hard from behind the scenes all along" [Daejeon on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

After falling into a five-game losing streak, the Hanwha Eagles are set to break their slump in the final game of a midweek three-game series against the KIA Tigers.

Hanwha will face KIA at 7 p.m. on the 20th at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark for a regular-season home game in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League.

Hanwha has already lost two of the three games in this series against KIA. In the game on the 18th, they suffered a heartbreaking one-run loss, 3-4. Then on the 19th, they fell 3-6 after surrendering a three-run homer to Kim Do-young in the ninth inning.

With these defeats, Hanwha has fallen into a five-game losing streak with a record of 48 wins, 55 losses, and 3 ties. While they remain in sole sixth place in the league standings, the gap to sole fifth-place Doosan Bears has widened to eight games.

Hanwha set its starting lineup as follows: Kim Tae-yeon (right fielder), Choi In-ho (center fielder), Han Ji-yoon (left fielder), Kang Baek-ho (designated hitter), Noh Si-hwan (third baseman), Chae Eun-seong (first baseman), Park Jung-hyun (shortstop), Choi Jae-hoon (catcher), and Hwang Young-mok (second baseman). Ryu Hyun-jin will start on the mound.

Compared to the previous two days, there were major changes in the lineup. Five of the nine players were changed.

On both the 18th and 19th, Hanwha started with the following lineup: 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). Although they lost on the 18th, they used the identical lineup on the 19th and suffered another defeat.

And today, there were major changes to the lineup. Two outfielders were swapped. While Moon Hyun-bin, Choi In-ho, and Peraza started the previous day, Han Ji-yoon, Choi In-ho, and Kim Tae-yeon will take over the outfield positions in today's game. The 4th, 5th, and 6th spots in the batting order—Kang Baek-ho, Noh Si-hwan, and Chae Eun-seong—remain unchanged.

The starting catcher's mask will be worn by Choi Jae-hoon instead of Heo In-seo. Park Jung-hyun will start at shortstop in place of Sim Woo-jun. The second baseman also changed from Lee Do-yoon the previous day to Hwang Young-mok today.

Ahead of today's game, Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon explained, "Some players are tired, and some are not in great condition. Since there are players who have worked hard from behind the scenes all along, we decided to adjust the batting order once today."

Regarding Jung Woo-ju, who made his return appearance yesterday, Manager Kim said, "He was fine," and added, "Today, (Kim) Seo-hyun will also pitch.... It's not just about the standings; if these players can finish with confidence, I think we'll be in a better position." He indicated his intention to use them.

Manager Kim noted, "(Yesterday) Shirakawa threw strikes aggressively and well. What else could we say if we couldn't hit him?" He continued, "We keep repeating the same pattern of getting hit first, then trailing, scoring points, and ultimately losing."

Finally, he pledged to play well in this final game of the three-game series.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.