“Hong Chang-ki in the leadoff spot, Moon Jeong-bin batting fourth” — LG’s winning lineup against Kwak Bin is set! Oh Ji-hwan waits on the bench [WC1 On-site]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Yeom Kyung-yeop (58), manager of the LG Twins, made a sudden decision to place Hong Chang-ki (33) in the leadoff spot.

Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop revealed the starting lineup for the first game of the Wild Card Series against the Doosan Bears in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO Postseason, which is scheduled to take place at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium at 6:30 p.m. on the 14th.

On this day, LG arranged its batting order as follows: Hong Chang-ki (right fielder), Park Hae-min (center fielder), Austin Dean (designated hitter), Moon Jeong-bin (first baseman), Moon Bo-kyung (third baseman), Song Chan-ui (left fielder), Koo Bon-hyuk (shortstop), Park Dong-won (catcher), and Shin Min-jae (second baseman). The starting pitcher is Carlos Karasco.

LG, which finished fourth in the regular season with a record of 78 wins, 1 draw, and 65 losses, and Doosan, which placed fifth with 74 wins, 5 draws, and 65 losses, both advanced to the fall baseball playoffs. In the Wild Card Series, where the fourth-place team is given a one-game advantage, LG will advance to the Junior Playoffs if it secures either one win or one draw. Conversely, Doosan must achieve two consecutive wins to move on to the next stage.

The objective conditions favor LG. The team also dominated Doosan in their head-to-head regular season record with 11 wins, 1 draw, and 4 losses. However, the weight of the starting pitcher, which is considered most crucial in a short series, leans toward Doosan.

Doosan will field league ace Kwak Bin as its starter. This season, Kwak Bin recorded an 11-7 win-loss record with a 2.24 ERA over 27 games, striking out 197 batters in 161 innings to claim the double crown for ERA and strikeouts. His walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) is also just 1.04. He was strong against LG as well. Although he finished with no wins and one loss in three games, he allowed only four runs over 18⅓ innings. His ERA was 1.96, and he recorded a whopping 27 strikeouts.

The player most expected to crack Kwak Bin’s pitching from the LG lineup is MVP candidate Austin Dean (33). This season, Austin played in all 144 games, hitting .331 (180 hits in 543 at-bats) with 41 home runs, 127 RBIs, and 114 runs scored. He posted an on-base percentage of .427, a slugging percentage of .635, and an OPS of 1.062. His batting average in scoring position was also .385, showing he is a hitter who knows how to shift the momentum. Against Doosan, he hit .348 (23 hits in 66 at-bats) with two home runs and six RBIs. He was also strong against Kwak Bin personally, hitting three times in nine at-bats (.333 average) with one home run.

LG will counter with Carlos Karasco (39). This season, Karasco recorded a 6-3 win-loss record with a 4.05 ERA over 11 games. There is a memory of him delivering a scoreless perfect pitch for seven innings against Doosan in his KBO League debut on August 1. In the starting lineup, it is notable that Hong Chang-ki takes the leadoff spot and Park Dong-won returns to start at catcher. Oh Ji-hwan, who is injured, will wait on the bench for now.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.View Original