KIA Tigers said on the 1st, "Lim Ki-young complained of discomfort in his left side during the bullpen pitching in the game (against Doosan Bears in Jamsil) on the 31st of last month, and conducted an MRI examination at Sejong Sports orthopedic surgery. It is a fine damage to the left internal oblique muscle, and a reexamination will be conducted a week later."

Lim Ki-young, who has performed well in 64 games with four wins, four losses, 16 holds, three saves and 82 innings with an ERA of 2.96 since switching to the bullpen last season, is expected to play as Kia's key bullpen again this season, as he pitched in two games with one win, one ⅓, three walks, two strikeouts and an ERA of 0.00 this season. However, he couldn't take the mound for a while due to discomfort in his left side.

KIA manager Lee Bum-ho believes Lim Ki-young has had problems since the game against Doosan on April 29. At that time, Lim became the winning pitcher by walking two, striking out one and not allowing any points during the ⅔ innings.

"I think it was a little bad when I threw it on a cold day," Lee Bum-ho told reporters ahead of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League showdown with the KT Wiz at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Tuesday. "I think I had that feeling in the game against Doosan. It's not a big injury, so I think I'll be back soon."

KIA canceled Lim Ki-young from the first division on Tuesday and called up Lee Hyung-beom ahead of the KT match on Tuesday. "We have thought about five players for the team to win. If (Im) Ki-young has (Kwak) Dogyu or right-handed hitters, we will operate accordingly," the coach said.

Regarding the reason for calling up Lee Hyung-bum, he said, "I heard that he is in good condition. I heard (Park) Jun-pyo and Hyung-beom are in the best condition, but I think we needed a little more right-handed pitchers," and added, "KT also seems to have chosen Hyung-beom, who is strong against right-handed hitters, because there are quite a few batters who are good at right-handed hitters."

Lee Hyung-bum, who played for Doosan last season, was drafted by Kia in the second draft held in November last year. He pitched in four exhibition games this season, marking an ERA of 2.08 in four ⅓ innings with one hold and one strikeout in one game in the Futures League, and pitched one win, two hits, one strikeout and no run in one game.

Meanwhile, Kia has formed a lineup against KT that includes Park Chan-ho (striker), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Socrates Brito (left fielder), Choi Hyung-woo (designated hitter), Lee Woo-sung (first baseman), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Lee Chang-jin (right fielder), Han Jun-su (catcher) and Choi Won-jun (center fielder). The starting pitcher is Yang Hyeon-jong.

"He is our team's ace pitcher and represents our country. We will judge whether he is losing strength or not and replace him depending on the situation," the coach said of Yang. "I will throw more than 90 today. I am in a physical condition that I can throw 90 to 100. I think we should set the timing for the replacement based on our conditions and circumstances."

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