In the end, left fielder Choi Hyeong-woo steps up! Three outfielders and five Choi Hyeong-woos deploy simultaneously, erasing the nightmare of the 'silent Game 1' [PO2 Samsung Lions starting lineup]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The Samsung Lions lineup has finally become complete. Choi Hyeong-woo (43), who rested in Game 1 of the Playoffs (PO), returns to the batting order. He will start as a left fielder, not in his familiar designated hitter role.

Choi Hyeong-woo will start as the @th left fielder in Game 2 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO Postseason PO (best-of-five series) against the KIA Tigers, to be held on the 27th at Daegu Samsung Lions Park.

Having secured an early berth in the POs, Samsung had two weeks to prepare comfortably, but they fell behind after losing the first game to KIA and found themselves in a desperate situation. In the history of best-of-five PO series, only eight teams have advanced to the Korea Series after losing Game 1, with a probability of just 22.9%.

Samsung had been troubled by the batting lineup due to an injury to Koo Ja-yuk, who won the batting double crown. Because it was impossible to exclude Koo Ja-yuk, whose base running and defense are difficult, they assigned him the designated hitter position, judging that it would be a burden to give Choi Hyeong-woo a starting outfield spot.

In the end, Samsung played with Choi Hyeong-woo on the bench but managed only two hits, suffering a 1-5 defeat.

After the loss in Game 1, Manager Park Jin-man explained why he did not utilize Choi Hyeong-woo: "There were no chances in the batting order. We cannot simply use Choi Hyeong-woo. Runners need to be on base before we can play the Choi Hyeong-woo card. It is a bit disappointing that we could not use Choi Hyeong-woo. There was no opportunity." He added, "It was a difficult game. If we let it go until Game 2, the series becomes harder. We seem to need to prepare in whatever way possible to win."

However, even in the bottom of the ninth inning, where failing to score meant defeat, Choi Hyeong-woo stayed on the bench.

After the game, Manager Park Jin-man made a suggestive remark, saying, "I think we need to change the LINEUP or members tomorrow," and revealed regarding the possibility of Choi Hyeong-woo starting: "It seems we need to consider various things. We will go in, have a meeting, and try to rearrange the LINEUP or batting order." In the end, Choi Hyeong-woo's name appeared on the LINEUP.

Samsung changed its starting LINEUP to Kim Ji-chan (center fielder) - Park Seung-gyu (right fielder) - Koo Ja-yuk (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) - Lee Jae-hyun (shortstop). Ariel Hurdado will make the starting appearance to save Samsung in crisis.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original