The Kia Tigers of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) will host the LG Twins in a big matchup for first place at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on April 9th. In the first game of the second half, two teams with championship aspirations go head-to-head.

Kia will start Socrates (left fielder), Choi Won-joon (center fielder), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Choi Hyung-woo (designated hitter), Na Sung-beom (right fielder), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Byun Woo-hyuk (first baseman), Kim Tae-gun (catcher), and Park Chan-ho (shortstop).

It will be Socrates' first time batting first this season, and the first time in 802 days since April 28, 2022, against Suwon KT.

Manager Lee Bum-ho commented on Socrates' decision to bat first, saying, "I was most worried about who to bat first. I thought it would be good for Do-young to bat first, but I thought his ability to produce runs would definitely drop, so I rotated Gun-chang or Chang-jin. I decided to try Socrates, so I put him in first," he explained.

"I'm trying to keep hitting him at No. 2, but if I feel like he's going well (at No. 1), I'm thinking it's okay to keep him at No. 1," he said.

Socrates has been hitting well in the No. 2 spot in the batting order of late. In his last 10 games, Socrates is batting .381 (16-for-42) with five home runs and 14 RBIs. This season, Socrates is 2-for-5 with runners in scoring position and 3-for-9 with runners on base.

Lee said, "I think the center field lineup is kind of settling down. When Sun-bin gets better, I think it would be better to put him in the No. 2 spot. Today, I put Socrates and Won Jun-yi together, and Won Jun-yi seems to be in good shape, and he hit so well against LG."

The plan is to bat the best hitters in the top one or two spots. "I'm going to put the guys who hit well against them in the top two spots. I'm going to try to build my lineup around that for a while. We're going to try to set the table with the guys that have been the best against them and try to get some good looks up the middle and get some runs. I kept Socrates in the No. 2 spot, 카지노사이트 추천 but he's been doing well there, so I thought it would be better to give him one more at-bat, so I sat down with my hitting coach and said, "Let's put him in the No. 1 spot. I said, "I think we have a better chance with Socrates at No. 1 than with Won Jun-yi at No. 1.

"If we play today, we'll see how the players are feeling, how they're feeling because they've had a few days off, and then we'll choose 1 or 2 accordingly. It's best if we stick with No. 1, but if the opposing pitcher is a lefty or a righty, we'll go with the higher probability depending on the performance."

Closer Jung Jung-young is expected to be out for more than 10 days. "I don't think it will be more than 10 days," Lee said, "I think I need a little more time to prepare accordingly. It's the most important thing in the second half to pitch when you're ready."

Lee Woo-sung, who has been sidelined with a hamstring tendon injury in his thigh, will take a long time to return. "The hematoma seems to have stopped, and it will take time for it to heal," Lee said.