Daegu: The Samsung Lions will try to punch their ticket to the next stage in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason without their star third baseman Kim Young-woong. Kim was held out of the lineup for Game 4 of the first-round series against the SSG Landers on Tuesday with a lower back injury. The Lions, coming off a 5-3 victory Monday at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu, are leading this best-of-five series 2-1.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim sustained the injury while trying to field a soft grounder during the top of the eighth inning of Game 3. Kim appeared to tweak his lower back on the play and stayed down in pain before walking off the field. Jeon Byeong-woo replaced Kim at the hot corner and immediately made a backhand grab on a sharp grounder to start an inning-ending double play. Jeon will get the start in Tuesday's game.

Kim is tied for the Lions' lead in this series with three RBIs and has the team's highest slugging percentage at .583. Kim had been batting fifth, and his absence forced manager Park Jin-man to shuffle the batting order. Shortstop Lee Jae-hyeon will move up from the No. 6 to No. 5 spot in the lineup, and Jeon will bat ninth. "Tests did not show any major damage, but Kim Young-woong still has pains," Park said. "He is not hurting as much as last night, but we will keep him out of the game as a precaution. He won't be available to pinch hit."

If the Lions win Tuesday to clinch the series, they will have two days off before the next series against the Hanwha Eagles. The Landers also made lineup changes, though they weren't due to injuries. Jeong Jun-jae will get his second start of the series at second base in favor of An Sang-hyun, whose throwing error in the third inning of Game 3 allowed the Lions to score two runs. After the game, Landers manager Lee Sung-yong identified that miscue as a reason for the loss.

Lee said he stuck with An for the whole game Monday because he wanted the player to overcome his mental hurdles, but the 28-year-old ended up going 0-for-4 at the plate. "I thought about putting him back in the lineup today," the manager said. "But if he makes another error, then it would be a blow to his confidence."

Catcher Cho Hyeong-woo returned to the starting lineup after sitting out Game 3. He had started the first two games, but Lee had said Monday he wanted to give Cho, 23, a break during his first postseason. Lee also mentioned that starter Mitch White will be available for relief duty in this win-or-go-home game for his team. It was only Monday night that Lee insisted he would never bring a starting pitcher out of the bullpen, but White, who struggled in the series opener last Thursday, asked for a chance to redeem himself.

White allowed three earned runs on six hits, including two home runs, in only two innings in a 5-2 loss then. "After last night's game, my pitching coach Kyung Hun-ho told me White volunteered to make himself available," Lee said. "I lost sleep over this. I spoke with the front office and with White himself. I said I would rather not use a starter in relief if I can help it, but White said he wanted another shot at Samsung. So I decided to give him that chance." Lee indicated he would only turn to White if the game goes into extra innings or if starter Kim Kwang-hyun struggles early.