KIA 'Total of 4 players' returns to the first division! But why are there no pitchers? [Gwangju Field Report]

*This content was translated by AI.

KIA Tigers announced its starting lineup and roster registration status for the first game of a three-game midweek series against Lotte Giants.

KIA will face Lotte at 6:30 p.m. on the 25th at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field in a regular-season home game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League.

KIA has recorded 60 wins, 50 losses, and 2 draws this season, standing alone in fourth place in the league. They trail third-place LG Twins by 0.5 games and lead-first-place KT Wiz by 6.5 games.

Lotte, facing KIA, has posted a record of 50 wins, 58 losses, and 2 draws this season, sitting alone in sixth place. They are eight games behind fifth-place Doosan Bears.

For today's game, KIA set its starting lineup as follows: Park Jae-hyun (center fielder), Castro (designated hitter), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Na Sung-beom (right fielder), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Oh Seon-woo (first baseman), Han Jun-su (catcher), Park Sang-jun (first baseman), and Ha Joo-seok (shortstop). The starting pitcher is Shirakawa.

Additionally, in line with the implementation of the expanded roster rule (allowing four additional players), KIA called up Ju Hyo-sang, Byun Woo-hyeok, Park Sang-jun, and Lee Chang-jin to the first division.

Before the game, KIA manager Lee Beom-ho explained the rationale behind the call-ups: "Regarding (Lee) Chang-jin, we have many left-handed batters on our team, so we needed some right-handed hitters. When (Park) Jae-hyun was out, and when a situation arose requiring a right-handed batter in the lineup, we intended to use him. We also have (Kim) Min-gyu, but he is essential specifically when we need to score one run in the eighth or ninth inning. His recent form has been poor, but reports indicate it has improved."

He continued: "Regarding (Byun) Woo-hyeok, we want to check his third-base defense. We had considered calling up (Park) Sang-jun for some time. Currently, (Han) Jun-su's batting condition is not in great shape. With (Kim) Tae-gun playing, if there are pitchers against whom Jun-su has performed well, we are also considering having him play as a designated hitter. Therefore, we have kept three catchers on the roster. For pitchers, we are considering only (Kwak) Do-gyu for now; we plan to check his physical condition by tomorrow before promoting him. Thus, for now, we called up four players without including any pitchers."

Shirakawa has recorded 3 wins and 4 losses with an ERA of 4.44 this season. Over a total of 50⅔ innings, he allowed 43 hits (including five home runs), issued 31 walks, struck out 40 batters, and gave up 26 runs (25 earned). His WHIP stands at 1.46, and his batting average against is 0.230.

Against Lotte this season, he performed well in a single game on June 4, which was his return match to the KBO: one win with no losses and an ERA of 0.00. Over five innings, he allowed four hits, issued two walks, struck out four batters, and pitched scoreless baseball.

Meanwhile, facing KIA, Lotte set its starting batting order as follows: Hwang Sung-bin (center fielder), Na Seung-yeop (designated hitter), Reyes (left fielder), Han Dong-hee (third baseman), Go Seung-min (first baseman), Han Tae-yang (second baseman), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), and Son Seong-bin (catcher). The starting pitcher is Vissely.

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*This content was translated by AI.