LG, in a "crisis," finally pulls the trigger! Sudden change to starting lineup: "Hong Chang-gi left off roster – Lee Jae-won starts at right field – Song Chan-ui moved up to No. 2 spot" [Pre-Playoff Game 2 On-Site]

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The LG Twins revealed their starting lineup for Game 2 of the Wild Card Series (best-of-five) against the KIA Tigers.

LG will face KIA in Game 2 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO Postseason Wild Card Series at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field at 2 p.m. on the 18th.

After finishing the regular season in fourth place, LG advanced to the Wild Card Series by sweeping the Doosan Bears. LG secured a spot in the Wild Card Series with a 4-1 victory over Doosan in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series held at Jamsil Stadium on the 14th.

After taking two days off, LG played Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against KIA yesterday (the 17th) but fell 1-5. If they lose Game 2 today as well, they will be forced to move to their home ground, Jamsil Stadium, with a series record of two losses. In that scenario, they would effectively be backed into a corner. Conversely, if they win today and reset the series record to one win and one loss, they are expected to be in a position to mount a counterattack at Jamsil.

Today, LG set its starting lineup in the following order: Park Hae-min (center fielder), Song Chan-ui (left fielder), Austin (designated hitter), Moon Jeong-bin (first baseman), Moon Bo-kyung (third baseman), Lee Jae-won (right fielder), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Park Dong-won (catcher), and Gu Bon-hyuk (second baseman). The starting pitcher is Im Chan-gyu.

Notably, leadoff hitter Hong Chang-gi was left off the starting lineup compared to yesterday. Although Hong recorded one hit yesterday, he has struggled to find his hitting form since the end of the season. Instead, Park Hae-min takes on the leadoff role, with Song Chan-ui placed in the No. 2 spot. The cleanup trio remains the same as yesterday. Lee Jae-won will take over right field defense, a position Hong Chang-gi handled yesterday. The Nos. 7, 8, and 9 spots, occupied by Oh Ji-hwan, Park Dong-won, and Gu Bon-hyuk respectively, also remain unchanged from yesterday.

LG starter Im Chan-gyu appeared in 31 games this season, recording a 15-7 record with an ERA of 4.46. Over 169⅔ innings, he allowed 187 hits (13 home runs), issued 41 walks, struck out 102 batters, and gave up 86 runs (84 earned). His walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) was 1.34, and the batting average against him was .282. He recorded 13 quality starts. Against KIA this year, he appeared in two games, recording one loss with no wins and an ERA of 6.23. Over 8⅔ innings, he allowed 11 hits (2 home runs), issued one hit-by-pitch, struck out four batters, and gave up six runs (six earned), with a batting average against of .306.

Meanwhile, facing LG, KIA set its starting lineup in the following order: Park Jeong-woo (right fielder), Park Jae-hyun (left fielder), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Castro (first baseman), Na Seung-beom (designated hitter), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Han Jun-soo (catcher), Ha Ju-seok (shortstop), and Kim Ho-ryeong (center fielder). The starting pitcher is Adam Ottavino.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original