[Starting Lineup] LG Finally Welcomes Oh Ji-hwan Back! 'Shin Min-jae Out, Hong Chang-gi Leads Off' in Game 1 vs. KIA [Pre-Playoffs Game 1 On-Site Report]

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The LG Twins have revealed their starting lineup for Game 1 of the Wild Card Series (best-of-five) against the KIA Tigers.

LG will face KIA in Game 1 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO Postseason Wild Card Series at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field at 2 p.m. on the 17th.

After finishing the regular season in fourth place, LG advanced to the Wild Card Series by sweeping the Doosan Bears in the Wild Card Decider. LG secured a spot in the Wild Card Series with a 4-1 victory over Doosan in Game 1 of the Wild Card Decider held at Jamsil Stadium on the 14th. Although they had to play the Wild Card series, they have rested for two days after playing only one game.

In response, KIA entered the Wild Card Series directly by finishing the regular season in third place. After taking a four-day break following their final regular-season game against LG on the 12th, they are set to play their first fall baseball game of the year against LG.

On this day, LG's starting batting order was Hong Chang-gi (right fielder), Park Hae-min (center fielder), Austin Dean (designated hitter), Moon Jung-bin (first baseman), Moon Bo-kyung (third baseman), Song Chan-ui (left fielder), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Park Dong-won (catcher), and Koo Bon-hyuk (second baseman). The starting pitcher is Tolerhurst.

Compared to Game 1 of the Wild Card Decider, it stands out that Oh Ji-hwan has returned as the starting shortstop. On the other hand, Shin Min-jae, who was replaced due to a hamstring injury late in Game 1 of the Wild Card series, is excluded from the starting lineup. Instead, Koo Bon-hyuk will start at second base.

This season, Tolerhurst posted a record of 12 wins and 11 losses with an ERA of 4.24. He pitched a total of 163⅓ innings, allowing 169 hits (including 16 home runs), issuing 36 walks, striking out 126 batters, and giving up 79 runs (77 earned). His WHIP was 1.26, his opponents' batting average against him was 0.262, and he recorded 16 quality starts. Against KIA this season, he appeared in five games with a record of 1 win and 3 losses and an ERA of 6.20. In total, he pitched 20⅓ innings, allowing 27 hits (including 2 home runs), issuing 4 walks, hitting one batter, striking out 15 batters, and giving up 14 runs (14 earned). His opponents' batting average against him was 0.307.

Meanwhile, KIA's starting batting order on this day was Park Jae-hyun (left fielder), Kim Sun-bin (designated hitter), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Castro (first baseman), Na Seung-beom (right fielder), Kim Gyu-seong (second baseman), Kim Ho-ryeong (center fielder), Kim Tae-goon (catcher), and Ha Ju-seok (shortstop). The starting pitcher is James Neal.

Neal appeared in 31 games this season, marking a record of 13 wins and 7 losses with an ERA of 3.49. Over a total of 183 innings, he allowed 175 hits (including 13 home runs), issued 38 walks, struck out 156 batters, and gave up 73 runs (71 earned). His WHIP was 1.16, his opponents' batting average against him was 0.252, and he recorded 20 quality starts (defined as pitching at least six innings while allowing three or fewer earned runs). Against LG this season, he appeared in three games with a record of 1 win and 1 loss and an ERA of 4.58. In total, he pitched 17⅔ innings, allowing 19 hits, issuing 3 walks, hitting three batters, striking out 16 batters, and giving up 9 runs (9 earned). His opponents' batting average against him was 0.288.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original