KBO postseason contestants alter pitching plans

Both the Samsung Lions and the LG Twins have altered their pitching plans for the ongoing Korea Baseball Organization postseason series -- with the latter team deciding to switch things up after Monday's game was postponed due to rain.

The two teams were scheduled to play Game 2 of their best-of-five series at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Monday, but rain pushed the contest to Tuesday, back at the same venue.

Speaking to reporters before the postponement, Lions manager Park Jin-man revealed he had decided to move scheduled Game 3 starter Lee Seung-hyun to the bullpen, where Park said he'd be more valuable against the left-leaning Twins lineup.

Right-hander Hwang Dong-jae will start the third game of the series, which is now scheduled to be played Thursday at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, the Twins' home.

Lee pitched in relief during Sunday's 10-4 victory. Though he did not retire a batter, Park was still pleased with the way Lee handled left-handed hitters. He could have escaped the bases-loaded jam if first baseman Lewin Diaz had fielded a routine grounder by left-handed Hong Chang-ki in the top of the seventh.

"We made the decision this morning," Park said. "Seung-hyun did a great job out of the bullpen yesterday, and I think he will be a key reliever for us against their left-handed batters this series."

Hwang, 22, has never pitched in a postseason game. He went 1-2 in 15 games this past regular season with a 4.07 ERA. He made one relief appearance against the Twins on July 30 and tossed one shutout inning.

With Game 2 pushed back by a day, Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb moved the original Game 2 starter Dietrich Enns further back into the series and will instead start Son Ju-young on Tuesday.

Son was a starter in the regular season but served as a lethal bullpen weapon in the previous series against the KT Wiz. He tossed 7 1/3 shutout innings and struck out 11 batters across two games.

Son will be pitching on three days' rest, but he only threw 29 pitches.

"We've checked with the trainers and the player himself. Ju-young will be good to go tomorrow," Youm said. "When we saw yesterday that it would rain today, we began thinking about putting him in for Game 2."

Son pitched well against the Lions in the regular season, going 2-0 with a 1.04 ERA in three starts, with 14 strikeouts against only three walks in 17 1/3 innings.