Wiz lose 2 regulars to injuries in Korean Series game

By Yoo Jee-ho

DAEGU, Nov. 6 (Yonhap) -- The KT Wiz welcomed one injured player back to their lineup but lost two others for the third game of the Korean Series on Friday.

The Wiz and the Samsung Lions are tied at 1-1 in the best-of-seven championship battle, with Game 3 set for Friday evening at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu.

Wiz's second baseman Kim Sang-su, who sat out Game 2 after fouling a pitch off his foot in the first game, drew back into the lineup for Friday.

But Choi Won-jun, the team's leadoff man and right fielder, was held out of the lineup after getting banged up during Game 2. He crashed into the wall trying to catch a flyball hit by Lewin Diaz that ended up being a triple, and Wiz manager Lee Kang-chul said Choi has some swelling in his left thumb. Choi throws right and bats left.

Choi batted 4-for-10 with a double and a steal in the first two games. He finished second in the regular season with 208 hits -- the second-highest single-season total in Korea Baseball Organization history.

"He told me he would be fine but I didn't think he would be able to play defense in his condition," Lee said in his pregame media availability. "But he will be available to pinch hit in a key spot later in the game."

Lee said third baseman Heo Kyoung-min will start the game on the bench as he is dealing with some chest spasm.

"I think he will get better with time," the manager said. "But if we don't have pinch-hitting options in late innings, we will send him out there."

These absences forced Lee to juggle his lineup. Kim Min-hyuck and Ahn Hyun-min, who batted second and third in the two earlier games, each moved up a spot. Kim Hyun-soo, after batting fifth in the first two contests, will bat third Friday in front of cleanup Sam Hilliard.

Veteran catcher Jang Sung-woo will make his first start of the Korean Series as designated hitter and he will bat fifth.

"When Hyun-soo hits in front of Sam, we need some power in the fifth spot," Lee said. "Sung-woo has some pop and since we are playing in a small stadium here, we thought he was the right guy to bat in that spot."

Jang hit 12 home runs in 76 games in the regular season, nearly matching his total of 14 in 129 games last year.