'Choi Hyung-woo has disappeared!' Samsung's lineup sees a bold change, with Lee Chang-yong stepping in as the No. 5 designated hitter to carry momentum from his two-run single against Lotte

*This content was translated by AI.

Choi Hyung-woo (43), who has been serving as the Samsung Lions' savior primarily as a designated hitter this season, was unexpectedly excluded from the starting lineup for the Doosan Bears game on the 16th. His spot will be filled by Lee Chang-yong (27), who had an outstanding performance in the previous day's (15th) game against the Lotte Giants, batting fifth as the designated hitter.

Samsung announced its starting lineup ahead of the away matchup against Doosan Bears at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 16th. The batting order was set as follows: Kim Sung-yoon (right fielder), Park Seung-kyu (center fielder), Koo Ja-wook (left fielder), Diaz (first baseman), Lee Chang-yong (designated hitter), Jeon Byeong-woo (third baseman), Ryu Ji-hyuk (second baseman), Kang Min-ho (catcher), and Shim Jae-hoon (shortstop).

The most eye-catching change is the exclusion of Choi Hyung-woo, who had been batting fourth. Choi, who anchored the lineup as the No. 4 designated hitter in the previous day's (15th) game against Lotte in Daegu, was left out of the lineup. Instead, Lee Chang-yong was boldly placed at the No. 5 spot as the designated hitter.

Lee Chang-yong had previously demonstrated peak batting form by hitting a two-run single to right field off Lotte pitcher Lee Jin-ha with two outs and runners on first and second in the bottom of the 8th inning during the game against Lotte the day before. Thanks to Lee's two runs, Samsung took a commanding lead from 5-3 to 7-3, securing the game. Manager Park Jin-man calculated that resting Choi Hyung-woo while leveraging Lee Chang-yong's strong hitting momentum would make him a key pillar of the No. 5 clean-up trio to ignite the offense.

With Choi Hyung-woo out of the No. 4 spot, Lewin Diaz moves up one position to play first base. Key points to watch include the performance of Jeon Byeong-woo, who has been moved up from the eighth spot to sixth in the batting order, and Shim Jae-hoon's defensive skills as he starts at shortstop in place of Kim Sang-jun. Koo Ja-wook, who returned to the starting lineup after shedding symptoms of a cold for the game on the 15th, will also start for the second consecutive game.

Meanwhile, Chris Paddack, Samsung's foreign ace, will take the mound for the team today. It remains to be seen whether Samsung, which has implemented such a bold lineup change, can secure a victory against Doosan in their away game at Jamsil.

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*This content was translated by AI.