(LEAD) Injured home run king pushes himself into starting lineup in postseason game

(ATTN: ADDS comments in last 5 paras, details in paras 4, 6, photo)
By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Yonhap) -- After getting just four at-bats off the bench following a long injury layoff, South Korean baseball home run king Park Byung-ho penciled himself into the starting lineup in a postseason game Thursday.

The KT Wiz were set to host the Kia Tigers in a wild card game in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, some 35 kilometers south of Seoul, Thursday evening. As the higher-seed at No. 4, the Wiz only need a win or a tie Thursday to advance to the next round. If they lose, the Wiz will have another crack at a win or a tie Friday, back at their home park.

Park, who led the regular season with 35 home runs, missed about a month of action after tearing ligaments in his right ankle while running the bases on Sept. 10. The Wiz had initially feared Park would be lost for the season, but he defied the odds by returning to action last Friday. Park even blasted back-to-back pinch-hit home runs Saturday and Monday.

Though he was mostly expected to be limited to pinch-hitting duties in the postseason, Park told reporters Thursday he had convinced manager Lee Kang-chul to put him in the starting lineup. He will bat cleanup as the designated hitter.

"Given the situation we're in, I have to do whatever it takes to help the team," Park said. "I don't know how often I'll have to run the bases today, but I decided I'd be able to run. It was my decision to start the game."

As he had already proven in late regular season games, Park, who has 11 homers in 44 career postseason games, said he remained confident in his bat.

"I don't foresee major problems with the hitting part," Park said. "It's just that opposing pitchers will be coming out guns blazing because it's the postseason. I have to be prepared for that."

KT manager Lee Kang-chul estimated Park is at about "60 to 70 percent" health wise but said he would be a better option in the starting lineup than as a pinch hitter.

Trying to end the wild card showdown after one game, Lee put the likely Game 2 starter, Um Sang-back, in the bullpen Thursday.

"If we're in a situation to take control of the game, we have to pull out all the stops," Lee added. "I put Um on the roster, because we want to have every possible option available."

Since the wild card series was added to the postseason in 2015, No. 4 seeds have advanced every time.

This is the Wiz's third straight postseason appearance on Lee's watch, and they won the Korean Series title last year. Lee cut a relaxing figure in his pregame scrum with reporters, but the same couldn't be said about his Tigers counterpart, Kim Jong-kook.

"Once I arrived at the ballpark, it finally dawned on me that we were in the postseason," said Kim, the first-year manager. "I am nervous, though it's not as bad as the Korean Series."

The Tigers entered the series with a built-in disadvantage, having to win two games on the road in two days. Kim will also take an all-hands-on-deck approach in his bullpen usage.

Left-hander Sean Nolin will start, but if he is shaky in early innings, another starter, Thomas Pannone, will be ready to come in from the bullpen, the manager said.

"I hope Nolin can go deep into the game," Kim said. "I am also counting on our big bats to carry the day."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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