"I really can't hit against him." Skipper immediately excludes starter from lineup, why?... The fateful Doosan game toward autumn baseball begins "When we go all out, players feel it too" [Jamsil]

*This content was translated by AI.

This matchup between fifth-place and sixth-place teams can be seen as a de facto wild-card deciding big match. Lee Ho-jun, NC Dinos manager, has stated his resolve.

NC will face Doosan at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 12th at 5 p.m. for an away regular-season game in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League.

This is the first of five remaining head-to-head games between NC and Doosan this season. NC currently trails Doosan with a record of 3 wins and 8 losses against them this season. They aim for a major turnaround over the remaining five games.

NC currently holds 58 wins, 60 losses, and 2 ties, sitting alone in sixth place in the league. Doosan has recorded 63 wins, 59 losses, and 4 ties, placing them alone in fifth place this season.

The gap between the two teams is three games. Depending on the results of today's (12th) and tomorrow's (13th) doubleheader, the gap could shrink to one game or widen to five games.

For today's game, NC set its starting lineup in the following order: Kim Ju-won (shortstop), Kwon Hee-dong (left fielder), Blandine (first baseman), Kim Hwi-jip (third baseman), Park Geon-woo (right fielder), Lee Woo-seong (designated hitter), Kim Hyung-jun (catcher), Cheon Jae-hwan (center fielder), and Kim Han-byul (second baseman). The starting pitcher is Gu Chang-mo.

The entire lineup consists of right-handed batters. Notably, 'Veteran' Park Min-woo was even left out of the starting roster.

Ahead of the game, NC manager Lee Ho-jun explained to reporters why Park Min-woo was excluded from the starting lineup: "He told me directly that he really can't hit against Jacklog. I experienced this myself during my playing days; there are definitely pitchers who are particularly difficult to face. His batting form is currently good, so sending him out forcibly could disrupt his balance. I think it's better for him to enter the game later in the second half after the opposing starter comes down. The fact that a player came to me and said this shows just how tough the opponent is."

He continued, "Also, he has been playing full-time recently. So today, we decided to let him rest for a day. In fact, we planned to use him as a designated hitter yesterday, but after playing until yesterday, he asked us to give him a day off for today's game. He is currently in a state of accumulated fatigue. By resting now and having him enter later when the opposing pitcher changes, we will have a reliable pinch-hitting option left, which could actually be better."

Park Min-woo has recorded 2 hits in 8 at-bats against Jacklog this season. However, including last season's stats, his career record against them shows a batting average of .250 (2 hits in 8 at-bats) along with 2 strikeouts.

There are five fateful games remaining against Doosan. Manager Lee stated, "It's not a lie; just because the opponent is Doosan doesn't mean we're bound by the thought that we must win every game. Since we have more games to play in the remaining schedule, honestly, I think even a 1-1 split wouldn't be bad. There are other games left, and if we overexert ourselves today and ruin the rest of the schedule, that would cause much greater damage. For now, we plan to proceed strictly according to natural order. We have no intention of forcing things just because the opponent is Doosan. If we get greedy and end up losing, it will really hurt the team's morale."

He added, "Looking back, there were almost no games we won by going all out when we told players to do so. When we truly go all out, the players already feel it themselves. If we hold onto an obsession that we must win and then lose, the impact on the team could be doubled, potentially breaking their morale. I also instructed the coaching staff to ensure the players don't carry such burdens."

Meanwhile, Doosan set its starting batting order as follows: Park Chan-ho (shortstop), An Jae-seok (third baseman), Park Jun-soon (second baseman), Yang Ui-ji (catcher), Kim Min-seok (left fielder), Severino (designated hitter), Yang Seok-hwan (first baseman), Jo Su-haeng (center fielder), and Kim Daehun (right fielder). The starting pitcher is Jacklog.

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*This content was translated by AI.