Park Jin-man, Park Jun-hyun: Extreme Caution "He pitches like he's throwing a shutout against us... Is Park Seok-min giving him information?"

*This content was translated by AI.

Samsung Lions manager Park Jin-man (50) displayed both humor and extreme caution on the 26th toward Park Jun-hyun (19), a right-handed pitcher for Kiwoom Heroes and son of Samsung's minor league hitting coach Park Seok-min (41), who will face him as the opposing starting pitcher.

During an interview with on-site reporters ahead of Kiwoom's away game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, Seoul, on the 26th, manager Park Jin-man responded to a question about how to attack starter Park Jun-hyun: "We study him every day but can't hit him. (Park Jun-hyun) has faced us quite a bit so far and seems very confident against our team," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. He then added with a laugh, "Is Park Seok-min giving him information...?" which turned the scene into laughter.

In fact, Park Jun-hyun has recorded 1 win and 6 losses with an ERA of 5.04 in 15 games during his rookie season, but he has shown himself to be a "natural enemy" specifically against Samsung. Ahead of this season, he faced Samsung twice, earning 1 win without a loss, posting an ERA of 0 and allowing a batting average of just 0.195 — nearly perfect pitching. Notably, during his first professional start on April 26 at Gocheok against Samsung, he pitched 5 innings, allowed 4 hits, struck out 4 batters, and kept the scoreless to secure his debut win. At that time, Samsung's starting pitcher was Jang Chan-hee.

Regarding the starting lineup, manager Park stated: "Looking at the opposing records, almost no hitters on our team have performed well against (Park Jun-hyun). When facing us, Park Jun-hyun is nearly throwing a shutout." He continued, "The only hitter who has managed to hit well against him is Park Seung-gyu. That's why we've decided to place Park Seung-gyu at the top of the lineup," explaining the reasoning behind the lineup construction.

Finally, the manager also addressed player conditioning and injury situations. He explained that Kang Min-ho, who showed signs of physical fatigue the previous day, would be given rest. Regarding Han Su-ho, whose name was removed from the first-division roster due to acute back pain, he said, "We received urgent news. We will monitor Futures League conditions today and decide whether to strengthen the roster ahead of the game on the 27th if necessary."

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*This content was translated by AI.