'Today (13th) in the print edition's 1G section'... "We've hit rock bottom; it's time to rally and climb back up." Even amidst crisis, the manager smiled → Starting lineup revealed: 'Could this be a national team selection?' [Jamsil on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

Facing a crisis as NC Dinos closed in on them, Doosan Bears revealed their starting lineup for the final weekend game.

Doosan will face NC at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 13th at 5 p.m. in a regular-season home game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League.

Doosan narrowly lost to NC the previous day (12th) with a score of 9-10. Although they mounted a fierce comeback attempt late in the game, they ultimately failed to turn the tide.

With that loss, Doosan finished with 63 wins, 60 losses, and 4 ties, maintaining sole possession of fifth place in the league. However, the gap with sixth-place NC (59 wins, 60 losses, 2 ties), which had won four consecutive games, has narrowed to just two games. Meanwhile, the gap with fourth-place KIA Tigers has widened to four games.

This season, Doosan holds an advantage over NC with a record of 8 wins and 4 losses. There are only four matchups remaining between the two teams.

If Doosan wins this game, they can extend their lead over NC to three games and catch a breath. However, if they lose, the gap will shrink to one game, putting them in serious danger of being overtaken.

For today's game, Doosan set its starting lineup as follows: Park Chan-ho (shortstop), Jo Su-haeng (right fielder), Park Jun-soon (second baseman), Yang Eui-ji (catcher), Kim Min-seok (left fielder), Severino (designated hitter), Kang Seung-ho (first baseman), Ahn Jae-seok (third baseman), and Jung Soobin (center fielder). The starting pitcher is Choi Min-seok.

Compared to the previous day, Jo Su-haeng replaced Ahn Jae-seok in the second spot in the batting order. The cleanup trio of Park Jun-soon, Yang Eui-ji, and Kim Min-seok, along with sixth batter Severino, remains unchanged from the previous game's third through sixth spots. Yang Seok-hwan is out of the seventh spot, while Kang Seung-ho takes over at first base. Additionally, Jung Soobin replaces Kim Daehan, who started the previous day, and will bat ninth.

Before the game, Doosan manager Kim Won-hyung told reporters, "We wanted to build a significant lead before the Asian Games, but we couldn't." He added, "Coincidentally, we found ourselves in a chasing position right at the timing of the Asian Games." He continued, "Given that we've been at rock bottom for the last 10 games, I think it's time for the players to rally and climb back up. We should view this positively. We aim to create a positive atmosphere within the team and endure with smiles while vowing to perform well."

Doosan starting pitcher Choi Min-seok has appeared in 24 games this season, recording 13 wins, 4 losses, and an ERA of 2.69. He is tied for first place in the league's win category alongside LG Twins' Im Chan-kyu (13 wins). Choi also ranks second in ERA behind Kwak Bin (ERA 2.26).

Over a total of 133⅔ innings this season, he has allowed 117 hits (including 7 home runs), issued 53 walks, recorded 117 strikeouts, and surrendered 52 runs (40 earned). His WHIP stands at 1.27, and his batting average against is 0.233. He has achieved 15 quality starts (six innings or more with three or fewer earned runs).

Choi has been very strong against NC this season. In three appearances, he recorded 2 wins with no losses and an ERA of 1.00. Over a total of 18 innings, he allowed 13 hits (including 1 home run), issued 6 walks, recorded 17 strikeouts, and surrendered 3 runs (2 earned), posting a batting average against of 0.217. Among NC batters facing Choi this season, Bleyne went 5-for-2 with 1 home run, and Park Geon-woo went 5-for-2, both performing well against him.

Meanwhile, in response to Doosan, NC set its starting lineup as follows: Kim Ju-won (shortstop), Kwon Hee-dong (left fielder), Park Min-woo (second baseman), Bleyne (first baseman), Kim Hwi-jip (third baseman), Park Geon-woo (designated hitter), Kim Hyung-jun (catcher), Park Si-won (right fielder), and Choi Jeong-won (center fielder). The starting pitcher is Natsuki Toda.

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*This content was translated by AI.