Can professional baseball's LG Twins hold on to second place?
LG will face the Samsung Lions at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on May 12. LG is in second place with a 22-14 record, and Samsung is third at 21-1-14. The gap is half a game. LG has lost two straight. Meanwhile, Samsung is riding a seven-game winning streak and is aiming for second place.
LG will start with Hong Chang-ki (right field), Gu Bon-hyeok (second base), Austin (first base), Chun Seong-ho (third base), Song Chan-ui (left field), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Park Hae-min (center field), Lee Jae-won (designated hitter) and Park Dong-won (catcher).
Captain Park Hae-min returned to the starting lineup. Park Hae-min was recently hampered by a minor back injury and was used as a late defensive replacement in the Hanwha game in Daejeon on May 9-10.
Chun Seong-ho will take the cleanup spot, which has been a concern. LG's problem at cleanup grew after Moon Bo-gyeong left with an injury. Except for Austin, Oh Ji-hwan and Chun Seong-ho started as the cleanup hitter but combined for 11 at-bats with no hits.
Austin, who ranks second in the league with a .377 batting average, has been blazing in May with a .425 average, three home runs and 10 RBIs in nine games. However, there is a lack of hitters to support Austin.
The slumps of Park Dong-won, Hong Chang-ki and Shin Min-jae are dragging on. Park Dong-won has a .202 average, Hong Chang-ki .183 and Shin Min-jae .185.
The starting pitcher is Im Chan-kyu. He has appeared in seven games this season, going 2-1 with a 4.91 ERA. On Apr. 18 against Samsung, he took the loss after 4 1/3 innings, giving up nine hits and six runs.
There was a first-team roster move that day. Kim Joo-seong was sent down to the second team the day before, and Kim Hyun-jong was called up to the first team that day. Kim Hyun-jong, whom LG selected with the 18th overall pick in the second round of the 2024 rookie draft, played in 23 Futures League games this year, hitting .254 with eight RBIs, eight runs and three stolen bases.
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