Is it a battle between a spear and a shield.Ahead of Game 1 of the Korean Series, the LG Twins and H..
Is it a battle between a spear and a shield.
Ahead of Game 1 of the Korean Series, the LG Twins and Hanwha Eagles brought up different strategies focusing on defense and offense.
The LG Twins and Hanwha Eagles will play the first game of the 2025 Shinhan Bank SOL BANK KBO League Korean Series at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 26th. LG went straight to KS as the No. 1 player, and Hanwha beat the Samsung Lions 3-2 in the playoffs as the second place in the regular season and reached the Korean Series.
사진 확대 Photo (Jamsil Seoul) = Reporter Chun Jung-hwan
Ahead of the match, the two teams predicted a starting lineup in a very different direction.
First of all, LG focused on strengthening its defense. Against Hanwha’s starting right-hander Moon Dong-ju in the first round, LG formed a lineup of Hong Chang-ki (right wing), Shin Min-jae (second baseman), Austin Dean (designated hitter), Kim Hyun-soo (left wing), Moon Bo-kyung (first baseman), Oh Ji-hwan (striker), Park Dong-won (captor), Koo Bon-hyuk (third baseman), and Park Hae-min (middle fielder). The starting pitcher is foreign pitcher Tolhurst.
LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop, who met ahead of the game, said, “I think winning the KS with a hit like in 2023 is ‘whether or not to come out once or twice’. In the meantime, there have been a lot more pitching fights, so I think Hanwha has that pitching power, so I think it may go to Game 6-7,” he said, expressing caution against Hanwha.
Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop also explained that the change in the starting lineup of the first game compared to the regular season was “to strengthen the infield defense.”
Coach Yeom said, “At the end of the day, Austin went to DH, and the coaching staff thought it would be better to strengthen the defense.” “We placed Koo Bon-hyuk at third base for the purpose of strengthening the infield defense,” he explained. The decision was made because Kim Hyun-soo and Koo Bon-hyuk’s outfield defense was considered to be at the same level.
Coach Yeom then said, “If Sung-joo (Moon) is in some condition and plays, I think he will have to take over as the designated hitter at that time. If you can do the key point today, the first strategy we have set is not to gather runners in front of the opponent three to five times. While playing PS, the opponent’s center batting line is in good condition, so I think he can be aggressive only if there is no runner. Also, I think that’s the most important point because you have to be aggressive to catch the opponent’s clean-up. Moon Sung-joo added, “I can play as a substitute.”
Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop’s idea was to play baseball focusing on defense as much as possible as Hanwha showed its hitting ability against the Samsung Lions in the PO series.
사진 확대 Photo (Jamsil Seoul) = Reporter Chun Jung-hwan 사진 확대 Photo (Jamsil Seoul) = Reporter Kim Young-gu
On the contrary, Hanwha focused on the attack. Hanwha put forward a starting lineup of Son Ah-seop (designated hitter), Luis Liberato (center fielder), Moon Hyun-bin (left fielder), Noh Si-hwan (third baseman), Chae Eun-sung (first baseman), Ha Joo-seok (second baseman), Choi In-ho (right fielder), Choi Jae-hoon (catcher), and Lee Do-yoon (striker) against LG’s starting pitcher Tolhurst in the first round of KS. The starting pitcher is right-handed pitcher Moon Dong-ju.
Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon, who met ahead of the game, said, “I paid attention to the attack because it was an away game, not a home. If the runner goes out, there may be a replacement depending on the situation. I’m the only one who gets the score. He explained, “We paid as much attention to the offensive side as possible.”
Compared to the last PO Game 5 lineup against Samsung, changes in the lower batting order are noticeable. With the roles of batting order No. 1 to No. 6 and Choi Jae-hoon No. 8 fixed, the positions of right field and shortstop were changed. Instead of shortstop Shim Woo-jun in the 7th right fielder Kim Tae-yeon and 9th minute, who played in the fifth round of the PO, they changed to Choi In-ho and Lee Do-yoon, respectively. Head coach Kim Kyung-moon previously used Lee Do-yoon and Choi In-ho as starters in the third round of the PO, and Lee Do-yoon showed good performance with an RBI at the time.
Manager Kim Kyung-moon expressed his position that he would maintain a baseball of faith rather than change the management of pitchers in the series compared to the PO series.
Coach Kim said, “In the end, I think we can win PS only when our pennant race winning teams block it well. If the content is too bad, I will think about it then, but until then, I will trust the players and operate them,” he said, adding, “I was worried about Hanwha’s good batting sense, but I have nothing to say because they are doing well on the batting side. I hope you continue to do well at a good pace,” he said, expressing faith.
[Jamsil (Seoul) = Kim Wonik, MK Sports Reporter]
