"I expected Choi Hyeong-woo to start, but we have to prevent Won Tae-in from pitching" Manager Lee Beom-ho's plan; KIA trusts Oler [PO2 Manager Interview]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

"Today, I naturally expected (Choi) Hyeong-woo to come out."

It was a scenario within the calculations of Lee Beom-ho (45), Manager of the KIA Tigers. He had even prepared a plan to counter Samsung's left-handed lineup, which, like KIA the previous day, needed to find a way to unlock its offense.

KIA, led by Manager Lee Beom-ho, will play Game 2 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO Postseason Playoffs (best-of-five series) against the Samsung Lions on the 27th at Daegu Samsung Lions Park.

Although they are the third-place team that advanced through the Junior Playoffs, their victory the previous day secured a favorable position with a 77.1% (27/35) probability of advancing to the Korea Series.

The pressured Samsung will send out Choi Hyeong-woo, who was on the bench the previous day, as the fifth hitter and left fielder. Although there is a defensive burden, their lineup struggled with only two hits the previous day, so they plan to find a solution through offense.

It was a lineup within Manager Lee Beom-ho's conception. In a pre-game interview, the manager said, "I thought Park Seung-gyu might come up because he is in good condition. I also saw an interview suggesting that (Manager) Park Jin-man is considering changes." He added, "We placed players in good condition at the top of the order. With Park Seung-gyu batting second and left-handed hitters from third to sixth, we can match up against (Lee) Yi-ri and (Gwak) Do-gyu. In terms of management, I think the lineup arrangement is not bad."

Samsung arranged its lineup with Kim Ji-chan (center fielder), Park Seung-gyu (right fielder), Koo Ja-wook (designated hitter), Lewin Diaz (first baseman), Choi Hyeong-woo (left fielder), Kim Young-woong (third baseman), Kang Min-ho (catcher), Ryu Ji-hyuk (second baseman), and Lee Jae-hyun (shortstop). From Koo Ja-wook to Kim Young-woong, all are heavy hitters who bat left-handed. Accordingly, they judged that deploying a left-handed pitcher would allow for effective countermeasures.

Samsung also removed Won Tae-in from the list of non-starting players, hinting at their intention to use him as a relief pitcher in the latter half of the game. The manager said, "Kim Jae-yoon is out, and Lee Seung-min and Bae Chan-seung pitched yesterday, so I thought they might have that kind of idea." He added, "For Samsung, depending on how today's game unfolds, Games 3 and 4 could become meaningless. If we find a way to win today, I thought Won Tae-in might come out."

The manager stated, "It is most important to prevent Won Tae-in from coming up," adding, "If he does come out, it will be because we are losing or the game is tied, so we must create a situation where he does not have to pitch."

Although KIA's middle of the lineup showed power the previous day, there were disappointments elsewhere. Today, they set their starting lineup with Park Jae-hyun (left fielder), Lee Ho-yeon (designated hitter), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Harold Castro (first baseman), Na Seong-beom (right fielder), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Han Jun-su (catcher), Ha Ju-seok (shortstop), and Kim Ho-ryeong (center fielder). The starting pitcher is Adam Oler.

The manager explained, "Ho-yeon hit Hurdado's pitches well during the season, and Jung-woo did not look to be in great condition, so I was considering who to use as the designated hitter. Since he is one of the few hitters on the team who hits Hurdado's pitches well, we made the decision after considering various factors." He added, "I felt that the 1st and 2nd spots would be important, so I put Jae-hyun and Ho-yeon in the 1st and 2nd spots."

Much depends on Oler's pitching. The manager expressed expectations, saying, "It is important how many innings Oler can hold up. If he lasts more than six innings, we can create a situation where we can use Yi-ri and Do-gyu to successfully close out the game with our closer."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original