It's not easy to change people's minds.
It is not easy to put a player who was once considered 'backup' as the main player in a day. In LA Dodgers manager Dave Roberts' mind, Kim Hye-sung is just 'backup'. He rarely allows a chance to start. The opponent made a right-handed selection, but he put him on the bench again this time.
Kim Hye-sung was also excluded from the start even though the opponent's starter was a right-handed pitcher. The Dodgers will play an away game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado on the morning of the 25th (Korea time). It is the first of three consecutive away games. An important game that could determine the direction of the Winning Series. Victory is absolutely necessary.
Considering this importance, Roberts came up with a starting lineup that chose 'a sense of stability' instead of 'change'. It's a frequently used best 9 lineup. Of course, Kim Hye-sung's name is not included.
After leadoff hitter Shohei Ohtani (designated hitter), Mookie Betts (striker) and Freddie Freeman (first baseman) are the same. Will Smith (catcher) came out as the fourth hitter with the most changes. Teoscar Hernandez (right wing) took over No. 5. It is followed by Max Muncy (third baseman), Andy Pazas (center fielder), Michael Confoto (left fielder), and Tommy Edman (second baseman). The starting pitcher is Jack Drier (2-2, 3.18 ERA).
The starting pitcher for Colorado on the day is Hermann Marquez. He has appeared in 15 games this season as a right-handed pitcher and pitched 73 ⅔ innings, recording 3-8 losses and a 6.11 ERA. It is hard to say that he is a difficult pitcher to target. Therefore, it may be understood that Roberts did not take out Kim Hye-sung's card 'necessarily'.
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Confoto, who entered the lineup, is currently suffering from a severe slump with a batting average of 0.165. Edman also has a bad batting average of 0.248 due to overlapping injuries. It is true that Kim Hye-sung's batting sense is much better than them. Kim Hye-sung has appeared in 34 games since being promoted to the Major League on May 4 and has been playing hotly with a batting average of 0.372, two homers, 12 RBIs and six steals, and an OPS of 0.948.
From a common sense point of view, Kim Hye-sung seems to have to get more opportunities to play than Confoto or Edman. However, the reality of Major League Baseball is not that simple. Confoto or Edman has a much richer major league career than Kim Hye-sung. In addition, the annual salary is set higher than that of Kim Hye-sung. These 'systems' have a great influence on the composition of the starting lineup.
In addition, since the opposing starter is not such a strong player, it may be less burdensome to put Confoto or Edman in the starting lineup, who has a low sense of hitting. Even if the current batting average is low, Confoto or Edman believes he can target Colorado starter Marquez as much as he wants.
After the game against Washington on the 23rd, Roberts said, "(Kim Hye-sung) gave us a hit that broke our no-hitter"If you put Kim Hye-sung on the bench for four to six days, you can't expect a good hit." I got a chance to keep an eye on him" he said. This does not mean that Kim Hye-sung will be appointed as the main player. It's just that I'll give you 'more opportunity' as a backup.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
