The league-leading LG Twins are facing a stacked lineup of left-handed starters.
LG, led by manager Yoon Kyung-yup, will open the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the Samsung Lions on Sunday at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu. The starting pitchers are Casey Kelly and Jung-hyun Paik.
After facing Baek Jung-hyun, LG will travel to Incheon on the 18th for a three-game weekend series against the SSG Landers, with SSG likely to start a left-handed pitcher in all three games. In the rotation, Kirk McCarty will start on the 18th, followed by Kwang-hyun Kim and Roenis Elias on the 19th and 20th.
However, facing a left-handed starter for four games in a row does not mean that LG has prepared any countermeasures or lineup changes. Before the game against Samsung on the 17th, manager Yoon Kyung-yeop said, “We’re going to try to hold on with left-handed hitters. Our hitters can’t hit left-handed pitchers,” he said, expressing confidence. This season, LG’s batting average against left-handed pitchers is 0.288, the highest in the entire league.
In this game, LG’s lineup also features more left-handed hitters. LG’s lineup is Hong Chang-ki (right fielder), Shin Min-jae (second baseman), Kim Hyun-soo (designated hitter), Austin Dean (first baseman), Moon Bo-kyung (third baseman), Kim Min-sung (shortstop), Park Dong-won (catcher), Moon Sung-joo (left fielder), and Park Hae-min (center fielder). The manager believes that the team can take advantage of the left-handed pitching without having to use a “customized lineup”.
Meanwhile, the main shortstop, Oh Ji-hwan, practiced normally before the game, but was not named in the lineup. Coach Yeom Kyung-yup said, “Oh Ji-hwan will rest until today. He trained, but I don’t want to overdo it. If he does something wrong, it will be a month before he comes back. I’m going to be careful until this weekend.”메이저놀이터
He continued, “I have to stop him from saying ‘I’m going to play,’ so I have to rest. I’m giving them rest through practice and things like that, but players like Kim Hyun-soo, Park Hae-min, and Oh Ji-hwan want to play whenever possible. I think that attitude is really good,” he said, expressing both concern and gratitude for the veteran players, including Oh Ji-hwan.