On the 22nd, the regular season opener between the Samsung Lions and Kiwoom Heroes took place at Daegu Samsung Lions Park. Samsung started Ariel Hurado, while Kiwoom had Kenny Rosenberg as their starting pitcher.
As expected for a matchup of top starters, a tight pitching duel seemed likely. However, contrary to expectations, Samsung took a one-sided lead. This was because Samsung's batting lineup relentlessly attacked opposing starter Rosenberg. As a starting pitcher, Rosenberg failed to complete even the minimum duty of five innings, managing only three innings while giving up eight runs. That day, Samsung exploded for 18 hits and secured a decisive 13-5 victory.
Ahead of the match against Kiwoom on the 23rd, manager Park Jin-man met with reporters and said, "We prepared well in the hitting department to target Rosenberg."
Although it was expected that Rosenberg would not easily crumble, given his stable pitching performance with a record of 1 win and 1 loss and an earned run average of 2.00 in two exhibition games, the hitting coach Lee Jin-young and the analysis team had a good grasp of Rosenberg's strengths and weaknesses.
Manager Park Jin-man noted, "Since Rosenberg pitched well in the exhibition games, we planned a strategy to increase his pitch count and knock him out, and the batters executed it well."
On the 22nd, Samsung placed Lee Jae-hyun in the 2nd spot and Kang Min-ho in the 4th. Manager Park Jin-man stated, "We formed the lineup based on players who are in good condition." All of them performed excellently in the offense, with Lee Jae-hyun reaching base four times and scoring four runs, while Kang Min-ho recorded two doubles and two RBIs.
Kim Young-hoon, who returned early due to a rib contusion during the second camp in Okinawa, Japan, also contributed a hit and an RBI, slowly returning to his normal pace. Manager Park Jin-man remarked, "While he still lacks practical sense, I believe he will improve by continuing to play in games."
Meanwhile, Samsung's starting lineup included center fielder Kim Ji-chan, second baseman Ryu Ji-hyeok, left fielder Koo Ja-wook, catcher Kang Min-ho, first baseman Lewin Diaz, designated hitter Park Byung-ho, right fielder Kim Heon-gon, third baseman Kim Young-hoon, and shortstop Lee Jae-hyun. Left-hander Baek Jung-hyun will take the mound.
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