"Kim Min-seok couldn't even practice today." Hit by a pitch the previous day and replaced; Doosan's .300 hitter ultimately left out of the starting lineup... participation remains uncertain [Jamsil on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

Doosan Bears' Kim Min-seok (22) is expected to miss the game on the 1st due to an injury from being hit by a pitch.

On the 2nd, Doosan announced its starting lineup for the home game against LG Twins at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium as part of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season.

Today, Doosan set up its batting order with Park Chan-ho (shortstop), Jo Su-haeng (left fielder), Park Jun-soon (second baseman), Yang Eui-ji (designated hitter), Ahn Jae-seok (third baseman), Yunion Severino (first baseman), Kim Daehun (right fielder), Yoon Jun-ho (catcher), and Jung Soobin (center fielder). The starting pitcher was Choi Seung-yong.

Kim Min-seok (22), a .300 hitter, will not play. After joining Doosan via trade from Lotte Giants and entering his second season with the team, Kim has performed well this year with a batting average of 0.303 (111 hits in 366 at-bats) across 110 games, along with four home runs, 42 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.779.

However, in his final at-bat the previous day, he was hit by a 150 km/h fastball thrown by Woo Kang-hoon on the knee and was replaced by Jeon Da-min. Before the game, Doosan manager Kim Won-hyung (54) explained, "Min-seok took a hard hit to the knee. Since he won't be able to play today, we placed Jae-seok in the fifth spot. As a result, Su-haeng, who has good hitting form, moved up to the second spot. We made changes to the lineup."

His participation as a pinch hitter also remains uncertain. Manager Kim said, "Min-seok himself says his hitting is fine, but we need to observe him further. He couldn't even practice today. Even when watching from the dugout, it was clear he was hit hard enough to hear the sound of the ball striking him."

He continued, "Still, I appreciated his determination in getting up immediately without showing any pain and running all the way to first base. As for using him as a pinch hitter, we'll have to see later. I would like to use him in that role, but he says it's not looking good so far."

With Kim Min-seok also out, the team's offensive performance became even more critical today. Although Doosan scored first in the first inning, they failed to record a single hit from the fifth inning until the end of the game, losing 1-3. As a result, starting pitcher Jack Loge, who pitched six innings allowing three earned runs (a quality start), was charged with the loss.

Manager Kim stated, "The pitchers really did well. Of course, Loge giving up a home run had a big impact on the result, but other pitchers also threw well. I was a bit disappointed that batters failed to capitalize on opportunities when they had them. Also, it was unfortunate that we couldn't score additional runs yesterday because Kim Min-seok's hit was caught by Park Hae-min with a super catch. If that hadn't happened, the game might have been easier to handle."

With three games remaining, this will be the final Doosan-LG rivalry series at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. Most importantly, with only three games separating third-place LG and fifth-place Doosan, the race for standings is fierce, making any further defeat unacceptable.

Manager Kim emphasized, "This three-game series is crucial. Being in fifth place cannot be considered safe, not just because it's against LG, but because we are competing in a tight standings battle."

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*This content was translated by AI.