LG’s starting shortstop Oh Ji-hwan has been out of the starting lineup for four straight games. Kim Min-sung started at shortstop in the three-game series against Daegu, and Jeong Ju-hyun will start at shortstop in the first game of the three-game series against Incheon on the 18th. Oh Ji-hwan is not guaranteed to start the entire three-game weekend series.

LG manager Yeom Kyung-yup said that Oh Ji-hwan’s absence could be a little longer before the team’s game against SSG Landers at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 18th. Jung Joo-hyun will start at shortstop for the game. This is Jung’s first appearance in the starting lineup at shortstop in almost four months, since April 23 against Hanwha.

Coach Yeom Kyung-yup said, “We have to be careful with Oh Ji-hwan until this week. I try not to use him as much as possible. There is a gap in the defense. (Kim) Min-sung-yi has a narrow range from left to right. Jeong Ju-hyun has a wide range from side to side.”

Starting lineup against Incheon SSG on Day 18

Hong Chang-ki (R), Shin Min-jae (2B), Kim Hyun-soo (designated hitter), Austin Dean (1B), Moon Bo-kyung (3B), Lee Jae-won (LF), Jung Ju-hyun (shortstop), Heo Do-hwan (catcher), Park Hae-min (center fielder), Choi Won-tae (starter)

Lee Jae-won is back in the starting lineup. The choice was made to counter left-handed pitcher Kirk McCarty. Manager Yoon Kyung-yeop said, “Moon Sung-ju is weak against balls that go (outside). I hope Lee Jae-won can hit one of his ‘floater’ pitches.” McCarty’s main pitches are his fastball, slider, and curve. His changeup is his fourth pitch.

Yeom lamented LG’s weakness against certain left-handed starters throughout the season. LG faced KT’s Wes Benjamin four times and lost all four. They also took three out of three from Samsung’s Baek Jeong-hyun. Manager Yoon Kyung-yeop said, “We lost four to Benjamin and three to Baek Jung-hyun. I’m 5-5 against KT, but I lost to Benjamin four times. I’m 10-5 against Samsung, and three of my losses are to Baek Jeong-hyun,” he said.

• Moon Bo-kyung failed to make a tag-up play from second to third base.

“I should have gone shallow, but my slide was late and my leg lifted, so that’s the luck of the game.”

• Shin Min-jae is playing the most games since his debut. Is there any problem with his fitness?

“It’s fine. The fast players have good stamina. Lee Dae-hyung, who retired, is like that, and so is Park Hae-min. They recover quickly and have good stamina. I used to be physically fit, but when I became a coach, I realized that mental fatigue was more important than physical fatigue. I guess it’s true that the mind controls the body.”

• Choi Won-tae is teaming up with Heo Do-hwan again (for the first time since their first match together after the transfer).

“It was partly to give Park Dong-won a break, and partly because I think Heo Do-hwan is more suitable for Choi Won-tae. Park Dong-won and Heo Do-hwan have slightly different sitting positions. The targets are also different. Won-tae Choi’s pitches are more effective when they go low. That’s why we put him in.”

• On Park Hae-min’s bunt with the bases loaded in the eighth inning.

“Hae-min Park is pretty much on his own. That’s pretty much it. If he has a bad feeling, he tries to bunt a lot.”

• Park Myung-geun seemed to have improved since his comeback.

“I think he was nervous on the first day. Before the game, I told him to throw boldly in your style. It was different from the first day.”

• KT is coming on strong.

“If you look at their performance right now, they are more stable than us. The most important thing in baseball is starting baseball. When you’re a starter, you don’t lose easily. Everyone throws six or seven innings, so the team is stabilized. As for the batting, we had what we had. We were the favorites anyway. I thought so. Even when we were in the bottom of the standings, I thought we would come up, but we came up so well.”스포츠토토

• With a three-game series against KT coming up in September, are you thinking of making any changes to your starting rotation?

“No, I don’t. I just do my best one game at a time. We only think about how many more wins we can get in a month, and that’s the main thing we’re focusing on this season.”

• Does he think about rotations for the rest of the schedule?

“I think we’re going to play almost every day except one. The starting rotation will be the same. We’ve been losing streaks when our number one and two starters are foreign. You don’t play your number one and two starters hoping for a quality start. They need to go six innings and give us two runs.”