For the first time in 19 days, Doosan Bears center fielder Yang Eui-Ji is back in the starting lineup.
Yang will bat fourth in the lineup against the visiting Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Thursday.
It will be Yang’s first start in 19 days since his last appearance against the KT Wiz on May 5.
Yang had been out of the first team due to a sore left side, but returned to the team on the 22nd.
Against Kiwoom on the 22nd, he made a spectacular return by hitting a pinch-hit solo shot in the top of the eighth inning for a 5-0 lead.
Yang, who briefly wore a catcher’s mask in the eighth inning of an 8-4 lead in the previous game, returned with a strikeout in the top of the ninth and was replaced in the bottom of the ninth.
“His swing didn’t look that good yesterday, so he’s not back to his normal self (yet),” Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop told reporters, adding, “He needs to get three or four at-bats to see how he’s doing, so he’s out there today (starting).”
“Having Yang Eui-Ji in the lineup also has the effect of making the other players more ‘ouchy’,” Lee said.
Foreign pitcher Brandon Waddell, who was hit in the head by a pitch in the previous game, is reportedly fine.
Brandon was hit in the back of the head by a hard hit ball from Keum’s Ronnie Dawson in the first inning, but went 6 innings, 115 pitches, 7 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, and 3 runs (2 earned).
“We had to change pitchers, and he said he was fine and wanted to pitch. He has a great heart,” Lee said, adding, “He usually throws the ball every day, but I told him to take the day off.” 카지노사이트